A Comprehensive Analysis of Hurricane Damage across the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic Coasts Using Geospatial Big Data

Gainbi Park

doi:10.3390/ijgi10110781

Abstract

(1) Background: Hurricane events are expected to increase as a consequence of climate change, increasing their intensity and severity. Destructive hurricane activities pose the greatest threat to coastal communities along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coasts in the conterminous United States. This study investigated the historical extent of hurricane-related damage, identifying the most at-risk areas of hurricanes using geospatial big data. As a supplement to analysis, this study further examined the overall population trend within the hurricane at-risk zones. (2) Methods: The Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) model and the HURRECON model were used to estimate the geographical extent of the storm surge inundation and wind damage of historical hurricanes from 1950 to 2018. The modeled results from every hurricane were then aggregated to a single unified spatial surface to examine the generalized hurricane patterns across the affected coastal counties. Based on this singular spatial boundary coupled with demographic datasets, zonal analysis was applied to explore the historical population at risk. (3) Results: A total of 775 counties were found to comprise the “hurricane-prone coastal counties” that have experienced at least one instance of hurricane damage over the study period. The overall demographic trends within the hurricane-prone coastal counties revealed that the coastal populations are growing at a faster pace than the national average, and this growth puts more people at greater risk of hurricane hazards. (4) Conclusions: This study is the first comprehensive investigation of hurricane vulnerability encompassing the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts stretching from Texas to Maine over a long span of time. The findings from this study can serve as a basis for understanding the exposure of at-risk populations to hurricane-related damage within the coastal counties at a national scale.

Highlights

Hurricanes are extreme meteorological events that are likely to be affected by climate change, of which global warming and sea level rise are two foreseeable changes that could impact the consequences of hurricane disasters
The objective of this study is to estimate the geographic distribution of hurricane-related damage that has occurred in the United States throughout its history by modeling storm surge and wind damage
For the purpose of comprehensive vulnerability assessment, this study provides a synoptic view of hurricane vulnerability in the United States on a large geographic scale using storm surge and wind damage modeling for a long period of time (1950–2018) at the national level

Summary

Introduction

Hurricanes are extreme meteorological events that are likely to be affected by climate change, of which global warming and sea level rise are two foreseeable changes that could impact the consequences of hurricane disasters. Hurricanes have historically proven to be some of the most devastating and costliest natural disasters in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast regions of the United States, having the highest average event cost (USD 21.5 billion per event), and causing the highest number of fatalities (6593) and the largest economic losses The primary causes of the massive damage and loss of life are storm surge flooding and high-speed winds. U.S coastal populations are already experiencing the risk of hazards such as hurricanes, storm surges, sea level rise, and coastal erosion. 123.3 million people, which amounts to 39% of the total U.S population, resided in hurricane-prone coastal areas in 2010, increasing to 127 million people in 2016. Coastal populations are projected to increase up to 144 million people (i.e., 20% increase) by 2025 within 100 km of the coastal areas in the United States, thereby continuously increasing coastal populations’

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