Experts predict that hurricanes in Texas and throughout the country will get more powerful over the next several decades.
Impacts of Powerful Hurricane
During a CNN interview, Jim Kossin said, they have great confidence that greenhouse warming raises the maximum wind strength that tropical cyclones may attain. As a result, the most powerful storms - which pose the greatest danger by far - may grow much more powerful.
Houston is well-known for being a regular target of storms and catastrophic hurricanes. Flooding occurs in coastal areas, and severe weather events cause thousands of people to experience power outage for many days.
However, a future storm, according to Terence O'Rourke, a hydrology specialist with the Harris County Attorney's Office, might damage crucial infrastructure beyond repair.
According to O'Rourke, a storm surge of 26 feet may inundate densely populated, low-lying districts on Galveston Bay's western shore. According to NOAA, a federal body, it is well within the scope of possibility for a category four hurricane.
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Effects of Climate Change on the Strength of Storms
According to O'Rourke, in such a scenario, the enormous storm surge might hit against chemical and oil storage tanks in Galveston, spilling their poisonous contents into waterways throughout the Houston metro region.
In an interview with Texas Monthly, O'Rourke claimed, there are thousands of chemical tanks and several refineries with materials that are so dangerous, volatile, and explosive that the consequence might be the worst environmental catastrophe in the history of the world.
Downtown Houston may be swamped with poisonous chemicals, displacing the whole populations, and changing Galveston Bay from the vibrant natural ecosystem to something disastrous.
Unfortunately, owing to climate change, O'Rourke's forecast of a storm inflicting extensive destruction is possible. More storms have reached the highest categories (3, 4, and 5) in recent years, a trend that is anticipated to continue as world average temperature increases.
As the consequences of climate change increase hurricanes that reach the United States, the likelihood of a hurricane inflicting catastrophic damage in Houston (and many other cities) rises.
Hurricanes and Storms Expected to Weaken Slowly
According to the BBC, even if you reside in farther inland than Houston, powerful storms and hurricanes may still strike you since they are projected to subside more slowly.
As the climate warms, the disintegration of hurricanes will slow, and as a result, communities further inland will suffer the rage of ever-stronger storms.
One strategy to lessen the danger of the strongest storms in the future is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Coastal wetlands, dunes, and reefs must be preserved to absorb storm surge and guarantee that construction and development do not put people in danger; Beaches should be replenished, and coastal infrastructure, such as seawalls, should be improved; and Flood damage may be reduced by elevating flood-prone structures. All these should be done so that communities will improve their storm resistance.
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