Hurricane havoc
September 15, 2017
Over the past couple of weeks, islands including the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Puerto Rico and some of the U.S. have been hit with multiple hurricanes. After being hit with two different hurricanes, some parts of the U.S. are still without power and are left to clean up the wreckage.
After being named a tropical wave, Harvey continued to strengthen into a tropical storm as it passed over Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. In just under 56 hours, over the Gulf of Mexico, Harvey regenerated from a tropical depression into a category four hurricane.
After making landfall with 130 mph winds, Harvey also managed to drop 40-52 inches and therefore breaking the all time continental U.S. tropical cyclone rain record. With some of the worst flooding damage in the U.S., the price tag to repair the southern states affected by Harvey will be racked up to billions of dollars. Many schools and roads were closed up until late last week due heavy winds and large amounts of flood water.
Not only was the U.S. hit by one massive hurricane, but in the following weeks was hit with yet another. Hurricane Irma smashed Florida earlier this week, leaving more than 6.2 billion homes and businesses without power. According the Associated Press, more than 40 people have died from the effects and aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The damage caused in Florida has estimated to cost $92 million, and as of Sept. 14, has caused at least 81 deaths including 43 in the Caribbean and 38 in the U.S.
So far in a span of a couple of weeks, the Caribbean Islands and the U.S. have experienced hurricanes and tropical storms experts have not seen in years prior. But if this trend continues, they may see hurricanes that break Irma’s and Harvey’s records sooner than we hope.