Destructive hurricanes cause massive impact

Samson Mosley, Staff writer

Within the past month or so there has been an enormous amount of chaos caused due to hurricane season. Everyday there is seemingly more and more coverage on the brutal events that have taken place. The states of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana have experienced extreme distress over the past month and are still dealing with the aftermath of the storms that hit them. As well as many other countries, Florida and Texas have a significant amount of harm produced by these vicious storms, and even though those storms may be over now, the citizens of those states are still dealing with the effects and aftermath of this terrible situation.

The first major hurricane to make landfall this season in the United States was the heavily talked about Hurricane Harvey. The target on this tropical storm’s radar were the cities of southeast Texas. Rockport, Port Aransas, Rockport, Lake Conroe, Port Arthur, and Bridge City were among the heavily affected cities in Texas. This category 4 hurricane reached winds of 130 mph near Rockport, Texas and dropped 40-65 inches of rain in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Harvey even affected states that were not directly in the line of fire. Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee experienced flash flooding from August 31 to September 1. Also due to Hurricane Harvey, the all time U.S. tropical cyclone rain records were broken.

After largely mutilating the Caribbean, Hurricane Irma turned its attention to the United States, specifically Florida. Irma has caused catastrophic damage to the places unfortunate enough to be paid a visit by it. Originally, Irma was moving as a category five hurricane whilst in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico but went down to category four upon hitting the Florida Keys then eventually dropped to a category three storm. Its winds were 185 mph for 37 hours at one point. Early estimates put the damage cost at 100 million dollars, but the damage could be as high as 300 million.

The first major hurricanes have demolished cities and left many without resources. Luckily there are many people donating to causes helping the people affected by these storms. Although it will take a significant amount, hopefully these areas will eventually make a full recovery.