HR: 14:55h
AN: U22B-04    [PDF]
TI: Hurricanes: The Consequences of the Energy Equivalent of a 10-megaton Nuclear Bomb Exploding Every 20 Minutes
AU: * Rappaport, E N
EM: Edward.N.Rappaport@noaa.gov
AF: National Hurricane Center, 11691 SW 17th St., Miami, FL 33165-2149 United States
AB: Through the ages tropical cyclones have killed and maimed millions of people, devastated economies, and profoundly altered physical and political landscapes. Both the nature of the threat and the human response have evolved. The largest losses of life have shifted with the population, from on the sea during the era of global exploration, to the coastline and, now, increasingly to inland areas. At the same time, the primary threat has changed from winds and waves to storm surge and freshwater floods. An international and multidisciplinary collaboration over the past half century has focused on identifying and minimizing tropical cyclone risks through advancing operational hurricane forecasting, improving communications systems, and heightening public awareness. In the United States, meteorologists and emergency managers work together closely to reduce the frequency of the most catastrophic outcomes. This paper reviews the most significant historical impacts, the contemporary challenges, and highlights of the most successful current mitigation strategies of the U.S. hurricane warning program.
DE: 3374 Tropical meteorology
SC: U
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting