Unit 4.6: Are Hurricanes causing more damage now?

At the end of this module, students will be able to:

1. Develop reasonable questions about hurricane activity and answer those questions using scientific data
2. Create a model to explain why hurricane damage has changed over time
3. Construct and communicate an argument about how human, geographical, and environmental factors contribute to hurricane damage

This is the first module in this unit that is specifically about hurricane damage. It is designed for an introductory Earth Science class. This module will take approximately 2 hours of class time.

Teaching materials necessary for this activity:

1. Student in-class worksheet handout (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 2.1MB Sep19 24)
2. Slides to guide the activity (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 2.2MB Sep19 24)
3. Copies of the hurricane damage model template (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 211kB Feb11 24)
4. Links to pre-class reading are provided below.

Pre-class:

The instructor will create groups of students and assign readings about a specific hurricane to each group. There are readings for four hurricanes. If the class is small, I recommend focusing on hurricanes Katrina and Harvey, or on a recent hurricane closer to your campus or community. Students should be prepared to share key points from the readings with their groups and with the class, with a particular emphasis on the factors that contributed most to damage from these hurricanes.

1. Louisiana/New Orleans: Hurricane Katrina
   1. Read this: https://www.weather.gov/mob/katrina
   2. And this article about Levee failures: https://www.history.com/news/hurricane-katrina-levee-failures
2. South Texas: Hurricane Harvey
   1. Read this: https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid%3A54c24519-c366-4f2f-a3b9-0807db26f69c?collection=research
   2. And: https://www.weather.gov/crp/hurricane_harvey Click through the different tabs to see the different types of impacts on Coastal Texas
   3. Also read this: https://www.npr.org/2017/08/31/547575113/three-reasons-houston-was-a-sitting-duck-for-harvey-flooding
   4. This article is longer but is a very detailed look at why Houston was so vulnerable to flooding: https://projects.propublica.org/houston-cypress/
3. Florida: Hurricanes Ian and Michael
   Read these articles:
   1. Ian: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL092022_Ian.pdf (There is a lot here, so you can use the table of contents to just read the relevant parts about storm impacts/damage)
   2. And this article about hurricane damage to barrier islands: https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/weather/2022-10-01/hurricane-ian-risks-barrier-islands-east-coast
   3. Michael:https://www.weather.gov/tae/HurricaneMichael2018
4. North Carolina: Hurricane Florence
   1. Read this: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL062018_Florence.pdf

Additionally, students should consider the following questions, and bring their responses and be ready for a class discussion. Alternatively, you can use a LMS online discussion board with the following prompts:

• What experience do you have with hurricanes? What do you want to know about hurricanes? What is important for the general public to know about hurricanes? What is important for forecasters/emergency management to know about hurricanes?

In class:

• This slide deck walks through this module's activities: Unit 4.6 slide deck (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 2.2MB Sep19 24)
• Students will answer questions on this worksheet: Unit 4.6 in-class worksheet (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 2.1MB Sep19 24)
• Class discussion about pre-class discussion questions. (15 minutes)
  • What do you already know about hurricanes? What do you already know about hurricane damage? 
  • Where do hurricanes occur? Look at the global distribution of hurricanes and determine approximate locations where they occur (see image in the slide deck). 
  • Students should make brief observations about where the most hurricanes occur and share them with the class.
• Hurricane damage and modeling: Students will look at a graph of hurricane damage over time in the USA, and make a hypothesis about the trends observed in the graphs. They then create a model (diagram) of what they think has changed over time to contribute to or cause the observed change in damage. Students should return to this model after Unit 4.7 and revise it, based on what they have learned in units 4.6 and 4.7. 
  • TIDeS Earth Science Unit 6 Module 1 Template for Hurricane Damage Model.docx (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 211kB Jan24 24) This file is the template for student models.  The template contains two identical images, and is meant to represent two different time periods, one from early in the time series of hurricane records (e.g., 1940's or 1950's; no exact date is needed) and one from now (or the past few years; again, no exact date needed).  For example, they might draw more houses in the "now" box, or draw a bigger hurricane, or higher sea level (anything that contributes to more damage). Their models should contain both diagrammatic changes and a written explanation.  They will revisit these models at the end of the activity.  The goal is just for them to think about and articulate factors that contribute to higher damage; but they should be brainstorming and not graded for anything other than effort/thought.  Their initial models can be mostly conceptual and general.  Their final models should include more details.  (15 minutes) 
• Hurricane damage case studies: Students should gather in their groups based on the assigned hurricane case study readings.  They discuss the types of damage caused and the geographical and human factors that contributed to the damage, and brainstorm potential solutions or ways to mitigate damage.  Each group will share key points from their case study, and the whole class will analyze these key points for common human and natural factors that increase damage.  This works well as a gallery walk followed by a whole class/group discussion.  
• Optional: What are some specific engineering methods that individuals use to mitigate hurricane damage? There are several fixes, but many are expensive.  Students can explore some of these options in this Build A Hurricane Resistant Home activity (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 299kB Feb7 24). (30 minutes)

Students will need access to computers to look for data sources, although a mobile phone might work as well.

During the hurricane case study part, be sure to encourage students to think about both the natural factors and anthropogenic factors that contributed to the damage (for example, the levee system that allowed huge volumes of water to be contained in the Mississippi River, and the building of homes in flood control structures in Houston). As an instructor, you might need to provide a little background about the levee system in New Orleans, or what a barrier island is.

The hurricane damage case study is an excellent opportunity to discuss the impact of environmental racism on marginalized communities. In particular, low-income and non-white minorities were disproportionately affected in New Orleans and Houston. Two good resources for students to investigate how segregation has affected flooding:

• This RAND tool creates a map that overlays environmental hazards onto historically redlined areas in many large cities, including New Orleans and Houston: https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA1456-1/tool.html
• This article provides a broad overview of the problem of higher flood risk in majority-Black neighborhoods: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/flooding-disproportionately-harms-black-neighborhoods/

If a hurricane has recently affected your region, you are encouraged to substitute readings about that event.

This InTeGraTe Module has related content and activities about hurricane risk, especially with respect to increasing coastal development: https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/hazards/unit5.html

This InTeGraTe Module has many resources related to Hurricane Katrina: https://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/katrina/index.html

Students will complete and submit their answers to the questions in the student worksheet. Answers should demonstrate logical explanations, with citations.

An example key with some suggested answers is here:

Example Instructor Key for Unit 4.6 -- educator-only file

Hide

Ayscue, J. K. (1996, November). Hurricane Damage to Residential Structures: Risk and Mitigation. In Natural Hazards Center (Working Paper #94).https://hazards.colorado.edu/research/working-papers/94

Frank, T., and E&E News (2020, June), Flooding Disproportionately Harms Black Neighborhoods, in Scientific American, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/flooding-disproportionately-harms-black-neighborhoods/

NOAA Office For Coastal Management. (2022, September 9). Hurricane Costs. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://coast.noaa.gov/states/fast-facts/hurricane-costs.html

NOAA National Center for Environmental Information. (2022). Costliest U.S. Tropical Cyclones. Retrieved June 14, 2022, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/dcmi.pdf

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2017, May 25). Tropical Cyclone Tracks Map. International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/ibtracs-tropical-cyclone-tracks-map.png

Madrigano, J., Hernandez, C.C., Stephenson, S.R.,Youngblood, A., Siddiqi, S.M., Gahlon, G., Huttinger, A., Chari, R., and Preston, B.L., (2022) Environmental Racism: A Tool for Exploring the Enduring Legacy of Redlining on Urban Environments. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA1456-1.html