Hurricane Information

2017 is turning out to be a historic year for hurricane activity in the U.S., as the Gulf Coast works to recover from Hurricane Harvey and the Atlantic Coast braces for Hurricane Irma.  While we don’t have to worry about hurricanes in Colorado, our state’s two largest universities both engage in significant research on hurricanes.

At Colorado State University, the Tropical Meteorology Project predicts Atlantic hurricane activity and landfall probability each year.  The project was founded by renowned scientist Dr. William Gray, who passed away in 2016.  Gray began his annual predictions in 1984, and they are continued today by his mentee, Dr. Phil Klotzbach of CSU’s Department of Atmospheric Science.  So what did Klotzbach predict for this year?  You can find the 2017 (and previous years’) predictions available online from our library.  The reports contain lots of stats and data supporting the predictions, but the bottom line is, on August 4 Klotzbach and associate Michael Bell predicted that “the probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the United States Coastline and in the Caribbean is above-normal.”  Given what we are seeing right now as Irma gathers speed in the Caribbean, it looks like the researchers were spot-on.

A different kind of hurricane research takes place at the University of Colorado.  Instead of predicting hurricanes, researchers at the university’s Natural Hazards Center study the aftermath of the events, how they affect the people who live through them, and how emergency responders can learn from the events.  While the Center researches all kinds of disasters, hurricanes make up a significant part of their research because there have been so many devastating ones in the last several decades.  You can find the Center’s reports in our library; some particularly apropos titles include:

•  Hurricane Damage to Residential Structures:  Risk and Mitigation
• The Mass Media and Hurricane Disaster Alerts
• Hurricane Gilbert, 1988:
  • Hurricane Gilbert:  The Media’s Creation of the ‘Storm of the Century’
• Hurricane Hugo, 1989:
  • Building Code Enforcement Following Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina
  • Disaster Recovery After Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina 
  • Evacuation Decision Making and Public Response in Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina
  • Hurricane Hugo’s Impact on the Virgin Islands 
  • The Psychosocial Process of Adjusting to Natural Disasters
  • The Public Policy Response to Hurricane Hugo in South Carolina 
  • Report on Trip to Charleston County, SC After Hurricane Hugo 
  • Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina: The Hurricane Hugo Experience 
• Hurricane Andrew*, 1992:
  • A Case Study of Florida’s Emergency Management Since Hurricane Andrew
  • A Case Study of Florida’s Homeowners’ Insurance Since Hurricane Andrew 
  • Map Use During and After Hurricane Andrew 
  • Preliminary Assessment of Damage to Engineered Structures Caused by Hurricane Andrew in Florida 
  • The Psychological Effects of Hurricane Andrew on Elementary and Middle School Children 
  • The Role of the Aged in Community Recovery Following Hurricane Andrew 
  • A Study of the Psychological Effects of Hurricane Andrew on an Elementary School Population 
• Hurricane Marilyn, 1995:
  • Children’s Response to Exposure to Traumatic Events 
  • Early Response to Hurricane Marilyn in the U.S. Virgin Islands
• Hurricane Opal, 1996:
  • The Impact of Hurricane Opal on the Florida/Alabama Coast
• Hurricane Bonnie, 1998:
  • Assessing ‘Practical Knowledge’ of FEMA’s Responsiveness and Effectiveness in the Aftermath of Hurricane Bonnie
  • Impact of Hurricane Bonnie, August 1998 
•  Hurricane Georges, 1998:
  • Hurricane Georges: The Experience of the Media and Emergency Management on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
  • Hurricane Georges: A Multinational Study Examining Preparedness, Resource Loss, and Psychological Distress in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the United States
  • Natural Disaster Episode: Impacts, Emergency Response, and Health Effects of Hurricane Georges in the Gulf Coast 
  • A Review of Relief: An Examination of the Response to Hurricane Georges in the Dominican Republic
  • The Storms of ’98: Hurricanes Georges and Mitch: Impacts, Institutions’ Response and Disaster Politics in Three Countries (also available in Spanish)
• Hurricane Floyd, 1999:
  • An Analysis of the Socioeconomic Impact of Hurricane Floyd and Related Flooding on Students at East Carolina University
  • Effects of Written Disclosure on Post-Disaster Psychological Adjustment and Symptomatology
  • An Evaluation of How ECU Staff Persons Coped with Hurricane Floyd 
  • Hurricane Floyd Flood Mapping Integrating Landsat 7 TM Satellite Imagery and DEM Data 
  • South Carolina’s Response to Hurricane Floyd
• Hurricane Isabel, 2003:
  • Community Response to Hurricane Isabel
• Hurricane Charley, 2004:
  • Collection of Satellite-Referenced Building Damage Information in the Aftermath of Hurricane Charley  
  • Elderly Populations in Disasters: Recounting Evacuation Processes from Two Skilled-Care Facilities in Central Florida
  • Providing for Pets During Disasters: An Exploratory Study 
  • Snowbirds and Senior Living Developments: An Analysis of Vulnerability Associated with Hurricane Charley   
• Hurricane Ivan, 2004:
  • Community Impacts of Hurricane Ivan
• Hurricane Katrina, 2005:
  • Disaster Realities in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Revisiting the Looting Myth
  • The Emergency Management Response to Hurricane Katrina: As Told by the First Responders 
  • Hurricane Katrina: GIS Response for a Major Metropolitan Area 
  • Large-Scale Rooftop Search and Rescue: The Experience of Hurricane Katrina 
  • Providing for Pets During Disasters, Part II: Animal Response Volunteers in Gonzales, Louisiana 
  • Reconstructing Childhood: An Exploratory Study of Children in Hurricane Katrina 
• Hurricane Sandy, 2012:
  • Assessing the Impacts of Hurricane Sandy on the Port of New York and New Jersey’s Maritime Responders and Response Infrastructure
  • Impacts of Superstorm Sandy on New York City’s New Waterfront Parks
  • Influence of Household Recovery Capacity and Urgency on Post-Disaster Relocation: A Case Study of The Rockaways, NY after Hurricane Sandy 
  • Resilience and Postdisaster Relocation: A Study of New York’s Home Buyout Plan in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy 

Check out the Natural Hazards Center’s website for preliminary resources on Hurricane Harvey.

*As of this writing the possibility exists for Hurricane Irma to exceed Hurricane Andrew in intensity and damage in Florida.  This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Hurricane Andrew.