Storm surge risks will be easier to understand with new Hurricane Center maps
storm surge watch and warning graphic (National Hurricane Center)
From the Times Picayune Editorial…
Ann George and Augustus “Gus” Saunders thought they would be safe in their Braithwaite home during Hurricane Isaac, which had Category 1 winds. But the slow-moving storm carried a wall of water with it that swamped their Plaquemines Parish community, and the couple drowned.
Within weeks of Isaac’s landfall in August 2012, Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge inundated Queens and Staten Island, N.Y., catching many residents by surprise. The majority of New Yorkers who died during that storm drowned, many of them in their homes. Most of the victims were elderly.
They mistakenly thought they were safe because they didn’t understand how deep the storm waters would be. That shouldn’t happen in the future.
The National Hurricane Center on Thursday unveiled new color-coded maps that will be used in 2015 to warn coastal residents about the risk they face from surge.