By Layne Friedman
This September brought numerous major Hurricanes that impacted millions. As of September 30th, there had already been 13 named storms and 8 hurricanes, 5 of which were a category 3 or higher (The Weather Channel). “A stretch of eight straight hurricanes from August 9 through September 29, in 2017 was a first in the Atlantic basin in 124 years,” stated the Weather Channel. The media covered each of these storms before and immediately after their landfall, but picking out what you need to understand can be a challenge. Here are a few things to know and remember in the wake of three of these storms: Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
Hurricane Harvey, was the first to hit on August 25th, making its first landfall as a category 4 storm near Corpus Christi, Texas. The storm then continued over Texas’ Gulf Coast moving northeast as it weakened. In total, 27 trillion gallons of rain fell over Texas and Louisiana in only 6 days leaving 33,000 needing temporary shelter or worse. In a Forbes article Frank Holmes states, “According to one estimate, Hurricane Harvey could end up being the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.” The economic implications of the storm will continue to impact people far beyond the weeks immediately after the storm. Twenty-eight thousand square acres of land were flooded, destroying homes and lives as the water levels rose.
Hurricane Irma made landfall not long after Harvey with the eye of the storm crossing over Barbuda on Wednesday, September 6th. Irma took with it both lives and property. ABC reported that, “A least 37 people died from Irma in the Caribbean, including at least 10 in Cuba,” and that 17 people died it the United States. Millions of people were left without power in both the Caribbean and the US, in numerous states including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina. The storm’s impact was even more evident in the Caribbean, where “over 90 percent of buildings and vehicles were destroyed” in Barbuda. The Prime Minister Gaston Browne described the island as “barely inhabitable” after Irma. Both the residents of states impacted by the storm and of the Caribbean islands that were pummeled will be living with the aftermath of Irma for months if not years to come.
Hurricane Maria was the most recent storm to hit, and despite the lesser media coverage and never making landfall in the US, it had still been just as devastating. Maria ravaged through Puerto Rico on September 20th leaving “an estimated 3.4 million people without power, and with the territory’s energy grid all but destroyed,” stated the New York Times. Those with relatives in Puerto Rico have struggled to contact loved ones in the wake of the storm because of unreliable cell service. The New York Times added, “The center of the huge, nearly Category 5 hurricane made a direct hit on Puerto Rico, lashing the island with wind and rain for longer than 30 hours.” It demolished the land and infrastructure. The New York Times articulated that the “difficulty of getting to an island far from the mainland; and the strain on relief efforts by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other groups already spread thin in the wake of several recent storms,” has slowed the recovery efforts, leaving Puerto Ricans short of food, water, and gasoline among other necessities. While these storms will soon stop appearing in daily news feeds, it is crucial that those impacted continue to receive the support needed in order to ensure the most efficient, productive and comprehensive recovery.
Sources:
- http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/27/us/harvey-impact-by-the-numbers-trnd/index.html
- https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2017-atlantic-hurricane-season-one-of-busiest-september
- http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2017/09/27/Puerto-Rico-was-devastated-by-Hurricane-Maria-but-media-coverage-has-been-spotty/stories/201709260221
- http://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-irma-numbers/story?id=49677062
- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/us/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico.html?_r=1
Images:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/11/opinions/dont-forget-bvi-opinion-jones/index.html