Loss of Life in the United States Associated with Recent Atlantic Tropical Cyclones.
Abstract
A database was established for the period 1970-99 to assess the threat to life in the contiguous United States and adjacent coastal waters from Atlantic tropical cyclones. Freshwater floods caused more than one-half of the 600 U.S. deaths directly associated with tropical cyclones or their remnants during that 30-year period. More than three-quarters of the victims under age 13 died in rain-induced floods. Most fatalities occurred in inland counties. Storm surge losses were significantly (but perhaps only temporarily) less than in previous periods of comparable length. This paper presents a statistical summary of the casualties, explores reasons for the losses, and reviews efforts to mitigate the threats.
- Publication:
-
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
- Pub Date:
- September 2000
- DOI:
- 10.1175/1520-0477(2000)081<2065:LOLITU>2.3.CO;2
- Bibcode:
- 2000BAMS...81.2065R