How do hurricanes impact Florida?

It’s not just the people who suffer when hurricanes make landfall. Thousands of animals are killed, waterways are damaged, trees are uprooted and the ground is eroded.

What impacts do hurricanes have?

When a hurricane strikes a coastal area, it brings a number of serious hazards. These hazards include heavy rains, high winds, a storm surge, and even tornadoes. Storm surge pushes seawater on shore during a hurricane, flooding towns near the coast. Heavy rains cause flooding in inland places as well.

How do hurricanes affect the environment?

Hurricanes generate strong winds that can completely defoliate forest canopies and cause dramatic structural changes in wooded ecosystems. Animals can either be killed by hurricanes or impacted indirectly through changes in habitat and food availability caused by high winds, storm surge, and intense rainfall.

How do hurricanes affect aquatic life?

Hurricanes generate high waves, rough undercurrents, and shifting sands, all of which may harm sea life. As the hurricane moves toward shore, the underwater tumult can cause shifting sands and muddy shallow waters, blocking the essential sunlight on which corals and other sea creatures rely.

How does a hurricane impact erosion?

During storms, large waves may erode beaches, and high storm surge shifts the erosive force of the waves higher on the beach. In some cases, the combined effects of waves and surge may cause overwash (when waves and surge overtop the dune, transporting sand inland) or flooding.

What are the social impacts of hurricane Katrina?

The hurricane left hundreds of thousands of people without access to their homes or jobs, it separated people from relatives, and caused both physical and mental distress on those who suffered through the storm and its aftermath, such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

How do hurricanes impact the economy?

Infrastructure damage or loss. Clean-up and repair costs. Day-to-day business operations in various industry sectors in the storm-affected areas. The “butterfly” effect of supply-chain interruptions on manufacturing and distribution.

How Can hurricanes affect the biodiversity within an ecosystem?

Hurricanes can affect biodiversity by stripping habitats of their foliage and knocking down trees with their high winds and killing animals.

How do hurricanes affect coral reefs?

The high winds of a storm can cause powerful waves. Storm surge and waves can topple entire coral heads, or shift sand which can scour or smother coral colonies. Delicate branching corals – like staghorn and elkhorn – are among the most vulnerable to breakage and may be reduced to rubble during a severe storm.