When Hurricane Hermine blew into the news, it cut a swath across Florida’s panhandle before drenching the southeast US with buckets of rain, and inciting evacuations as far north as Long Island, New York. They can be frightening experiences for people, but the environmental impact of hurricanes can be devastating.
Hurricanes & storm surge effects
As a Category 1 hurricane (which means top sustained winds were between 74 and 95 miles per hour), the greatest threat from a storm like Hermine is the storm surge, rising water caused by changes in atmospheric pressures. These surges cause flooding and erode coastlines, changing both the beachfronts and the shape of the shoreline beneath them.
In Louisiana, the US Geological Survey has used historical data to examine the changing face of the barrier islands. Hurricanes have exacerbated the normal degradation of these areas. The sea level around Louisiana’s barrier islands is rising at a rate of 1 centimeter per year. That may not sound like much, but it is 10 times as fast as the rest of the world. Loss of barrier islands in coastal areas like Louisiana would remove the natural protections afforded to interior wetlands. This would further impact the overall environment by destroying the habitats for many native species and wiping others out altogether.
Hurricanes & endangered species
Another environmental impact of hurricanes is that endangered species living in a hurricane’s path can be greatly harmed by large storms. Bird populations are often the most affected. Many North American species begin their annual migrations right in the middle of hurricane season. Hurricane force winds can shred forest canopies and strip landscapes bare. After Hurricane Hugo in 1995, the Puerto Rican parrot population dropped by 50 percent. Birds that are not directly impacted by the storms themselves may find their usual food sources destroyed or greatly depleted as they fly into their normal migratory stopping points.
Hurricanes take a toll on humans as well. Fishing industries would be greatly affected, and coastal real estate would be either underwater or could lose its monetary value. With Hermine arriving just in time for Labor Day weekend, beachfront communities in New Jersey and New York found themselves shuttering store windows and lashing down beach chairs instead of collecting cash from the normal influx of holiday beachgoers.
The full extent of the environmental impact of hurricanes during this year will remain to be seen.
Featured Image from NASA/Unsplash
