Hurricane Ian: was the carnage in Florida avoidable?
Dozens of people were killed and millions were left without power when Hurricane Ian struck the state
As a native Floridian, I’m no stranger to tropical storms, said Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post. I was there in 1960 for Hurricane Donna, which meteorologists consider “one of the all-time great hurricanes”. Being relatively new to the state and living quite far inland, my family assumed we could ride that tempest out. “The uninitiated always think it would be cool to ‘batten down the hatches’.” We discovered to our cost just how puny such defences are.
It was a harsh lesson that many Floridians experienced last week when Hurricane Ian struck the state, inundating the Gulf of Mexico coast with storm surges and lifting buildings off their foundations with winds of up to 155mph. Dozens of people were killed and millions were left without power.
Forecasters have fortunately made great strides when it comes to working out where hurricanes will go, said Benji Jones on Vox. “Storm track predictions that could only be made 24 hours in advance 20 years ago can now be issued 72 hours ahead.” The flipside, however, is that it has become harder to anticipate how strong storms will get.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
‘Rapid intensification’
Global warming is thought to be contributing to what meteorologists call “rapid intensification”. Hurricane Ian’s wind speeds doubled in the 48 hours before it hit Florida. Last summer, when Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana, the storm jumped from Category 2 strength to Category 4, with winds reaching 150mph, in less than a day. The sudden speed-up leaves little time to organise evacuations.
The risk is made worse by another factor known as the “expanding bull’s eye”, said Simon Ducroquet in The Washington Post. The huge influx of people into Florida in recent years, and the accompanying development, mean the chance of a hurricane hitting built-up areas is far higher than it used to be.
The federal government has exacerbated this problem by encouraging people to put themselves in harm’s way, said Elizabeth Nolan Brown in Reason. Since the late 1960s, it has subsidised flood insurance, enabling millions of people to move to hurricane zones who might instead have been deterred by high premiums. Interrupting market forces has made such moves less financially risky for individuals, but much more costly for taxpayers, while discouraging development in other, less treacherous regions. It makes no sense to keep “subsidising houses in hurricane zones”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - October 13, 2024
Sunday's cartoons - the swing of things, fear of facts, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 timely cartoons about climate change denial
Cartoons Artists take on textbook trouble, bizarre beliefs, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Kris Kristofferson: the free-spirited country music star who studied at Oxford
In the Spotlight The songwriter, singer and film-star has died aged 88
By The Week UK Published
-
What does marine life do during a hurricane?
The Explainer The underwater ecosystem also faces deadly consequences
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane Milton
Speed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hurricane Helene death toll rises, North Carolina reels
Speed Read At least 95 are dead following catastrophic flooding
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hurricane Helene storms Florida's Big Bend
Speed Read Helene is among the biggest hurricanes to ever strike the Gulf Coast
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dozens dead in Vietnam after 'worst typhoon' in 30 years
At least 58 people are dead and hundreds are missing after Typhoon Yagi made landfall
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
England's great parakeet invasion
The Explainer How did a parrot from the Himalayas become a common sight in southeast England?
By The Week UK Published
-
The Earth just saw its hottest day on record
Speed Read July 21, 2024 was the hottest day in recorded global history
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Prisons are simply not prepared for extreme heat
Under the radar Inmates are at severe risk of heat-related illness
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published