Inland communities are increasingly vulnerable to rainfall from tropical systems » Yale Climate Connections

Transcript:

Hurricane winds and storm surge flooding can devastate coastal communities. But the dangers of tropical storms are not limited to the coast.

Last year, Hurricane Helene barreled ashore in Florida, flattening homes and flooding streets. But its worst damage occurred in western North Carolina, where heavy rain caused rivers to overflow, wiping out entire towns and killing more than 100 people.

The National Hurricane Center reports that between 2013 and 2022, more than half of the deaths from U.S. hurricanes came from freshwater flooding caused by intense rain.

That’s more than twice the percentage of such fatalities in the prior 50 years. And inland flooding is expected to continue getting worse.

As the climate warms, many hurricanes will grow stronger – and carry more moisture, which can lead to more extreme rainfall over many days and across hundreds of miles.

The risks can extend far inland – where communities are sometimes caught off-guard and may be unprepared for evacuations.

So it’s important for communities both in coastal areas and inland to be alert for dangerous conditions and ready to evacuate if necessary.

Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media