Hurricane
By Lily Behrendt
What is a Hurricane?
A hurricane is a very powerful storm that forms over the ocean. They have heavy rain and strong winds. They can measure from 200 to 300 miles long. The wind speeds is about 130 to 200 mph. They are very destructive and dangerous to ecosystems. They can cause flooding in an ecosystem and the land can erode. Many buildings can also be destoryed. It takes a long time to rebuild an ecosystem after a hurricane.
Birds Eye View
this is a picture of a hurricane forming. This picture was taken from space.
During the storm
Hurricanes have very strong winds and heavy rains.
Damage
Hurricanes can do a lot of damage to a city. They can cause floods and they can also destroy buildings
Solutions
Solution 1- Sea gates would allow there to not be as much flooding because it would close off the oceans/harbors from riding water. They used this solution after Hurricane Sandy that hit New York.
Solution 2- Beach Nourishment helps with beach erosion. It doesn't stop beach erosion but it helps it. It is the process of dumping sand onto beaches that have eroding sand. It helps widen the existing beach and helps the sand from eroding.
Solution 2- Beach Nourishment helps with beach erosion. It doesn't stop beach erosion but it helps it. It is the process of dumping sand onto beaches that have eroding sand. It helps widen the existing beach and helps the sand from eroding.
Seawalls
Pros-
- lower flooding
- helps prevent buildings and land from eroding
- protects human habitation
- encourage tourism because you can walk above/below them along the waterfront
- very expensive to build and maintain
- sends energy back into the water so the waves get stronger
- water can go over the wall if it rises to high
- the walls erode over time
Beach Nourishment
Pros-
- helps prevent beach erosion
- restores and widens beach
- doesn't leave any harm
- structures near the beach are protected
- it can erode faster than the natural sand
- expensive
- the added sand will be different than the natural sand
- beach turns into constuction zone
Which solution is better for the ecosystem?
Seawalls would be a better solution for the ecosystem. When there is a hurricane, flooding is usually the biggest issue that can lead to much destruction in an ecosystem. Seawalls help a lot with preventing flooding which makes there be less destruction in the ecosystem. Seawalls also help the land from eroding. That also helps there be less damage. It might be costly, but it is worth it. Seawalls are a very good solution to keep an ecosystem safe in a hurricane.