NOAA's GOES-East satellite shows Hurricane Matthew as it regained Category 4 Hurricane Status on October 6. Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project.
As Hurricane Matthew continues to wreak damage in the Carribean and heads for the United States, we've gathered some resources that can be helpful to those seeking further information on hurricanes and other extreme coastal weather events. We'll update often so please check back.
Websites and Reports | From Our Library | News and News Releases
Websites and Reports
General
The National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center website offers a wealth of information about hurricanes and tropical cyclones, including information on past hurricane seasons and individual storms.
NASA Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
You'll find a wealth of NASA's diverse hurricane research here, including Matthew specific sattelite images, videos, and what a collision with Tropical Storm Nicole might look like.
Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project
The home of Atlantic hurricane prediction pioneers Philip Klotzbach and the late Bill Gray, this site is an excellent source of information on landfalling hurricanes in the U.S., and includes real-time tropical cyclone activity reports.
Seasonal Hurricane Prediction
This site takes the power of the Tropical Meteorology Project and joins it with similar projects for an even more comprehensive look at historical and predicted hurricane activity.
USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Tool
This tool shows where flooding may occur over a range of water levels in a community and includes real-time streamflow data, flood forecasts, and potential loss estimates.
Ready.gov Hurricanes
This collection of hurricane resources covers every aspect of an event, including handy lists of things to think about when a storm is 6-36 hours away.
Hurricane Watch Net
Hurricane Watch Net is an organization of amateur radio and weather people who disseminate hurricane advisory information.
Evacuation
Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst
The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst is an ArcGIS extension that will estimate how long it would take to move out of hazard zones on foot, taking elements such as ground cover, elevation, and time of day into account. The site includes a handy workflow for those analyzing pedestrian evacuation movements. More information can be found in this USGS report on the software’s potential.
The Role of Transit in Emergency Evacuation
This Transportation Research Board special report provides a look back at transit providers and emergency evacuation plans. Recommendations for partnering with transit organizations in emergency planning and an addendum detailing transit’s role in 33 urban-area plans are included.
Physical Environment
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety provides conducts research and provides information about ways to protect homes and businesses against disaster loss. Check out the site's hurricane section for specifics on everything from how to prepare your home to weather the storm to hazards to watch for when you return.
Trees and Hurricanes
The University of Florida’s Trees and Hurricanes site helps communities establish wind-resistant urban forests and provides information on cleaning up and restoring hurricane-damaged trees.
From Our Library
The following information is part of the Natural Hazards Center Library collection. Contact Librarian Wanda Headley at wanda.headley@colorado.edu for more information.
Emergency Management/Preparedness/Response/Recovery
911 Center staffing during hurricanes: a survey to determine best practices. Christopher J. Kearns. Journal of Emergency Management. 205; 3(5): 25-35.
Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina: How to Maintain Operations during a Regional Disaster. Sunguard Availability Services. 2006.
Hurricane mitigation for the built environment. Ricardo A. Alvarez. CRC Press. 2016.
National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Mid-Atlantic Coast. Kara S. Doran. United States Geological Survey. Open-File Report 2013-1131. 2013.
The private and social benefits of preparing for natural disasters. Robert Stein, et. al. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. Nov. 2014; 32(3):459-483.
A tale of two recoveries: Five lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Susan Cutter and Christopher Emrich. Emergency Management. 2015. ePub.
Environmental impacts
Natural defenses from hurricanes and floods: protecting America's communities and ecosystems in an era of extreme weather Patty Glick, et. al. National Wildlife Federation. 2014.
Science and the Storms: The USGS Response to the 2005 Hurricanes. G.S. Farris, G.J. Smith, M.P. Crane, C.R. Demas, L.L. Robbins, and D.L. Lavorie (eds.) United States Geological Survey. 2007.
Evacuation
2011 South Carolina hurricane evacuation behavioral study, final report. Susan Cutter, et. al. Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute, University of South Carolina. 2011.
Disaster Evacuation and the Tourist Industry. Thomas E. Drabek. Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado. Monograph #57. 1994.
Disaster Evacuation Behavior: Tourists and Other Transients Thomas E. Drabek. Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado. Monograph #58. 1996.
Disaster-Induced Employee Evacuation. Thomas E. Drabek. Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado. Monograph #61. 1999.
Effective evacuation planning: An assessment of evacuation planning efforts implemented during the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons in the USA. Susan M. Smith, Linda Peoples and Kathy Council. International Journal of Emergency Management. 2005; 2(5): 239-248.
How risk perceptions influence evacuations from hurricanes. Robert Stein, et. al. James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University. 2011.
A mixed method study of hurricane evacuation: demographic predictors for stated compliance to voluntary and mandatory orders. S.E. DeYoung, et. al. Environmental Hazards. 2016; 15(2):95-112.
Predicting information seeking regarding hurricane evacuation in the destination. Ignatius Cahyanto, et. al. Tourism Management. 2016; 52:264-275.
Promising Practices for Evacuating People with Disabilities. Frances Norwood, Brian J. Gerber and Michael Zakour. School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver and Inclusion Research Institute, West Virginia University. Jan. 2011.
A transportation guide for all-hazards emergency evacuation: final research report. Deborah Matherly, et. al. National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Transportation Research Board, National Academies. NCHRP Report 740. 2013.
Who evacuates when hurricanes approach? the role of risk, information and location. Robert Stein, Leonardo Duenas-Osorio and Devika Subramanian. Social Science Quarterly. 2010; 91(3):816-834.
General
The economics of hurricanes in the United States. William D. Nordhaus. National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper #12813. 2006.
Failing to Learn from Experience about Catastrophes: The Case of Hurricane Preparedness. Robert Meyer. Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center. Informed Decisions on Catastrophic Risk Issue Brief. Dec. 2013.
Florida’s Hurricane History. 2nd edition. Jay Barnes. University of North Carolina Press. 2007.
The Human Side of Disaster. Thomas E. Drabek. CRC Press. 2009.
Hurricane Andrew in South Florida: Mesoscale Weather and Societal Responses. Roger A. Pielke. National Center for Atmospheric Research. 1995.
A mental models study of hurricane forecast and warning production, communication, and decisionmaking.Ann Bostrom, et. al. Weather, Climate and Society. 2016; 8(2): 111-129.
Power law or lognormal? Distribution of normalized hurricane damages in the United States, 1900-2005. Calvin Blackwell. Natural Hazards Review. 2015; 16(3):ePub.
Media/Social media
What drives television weather coverage? Daniel Sutter and David Flores. Environmental Hazards: Human and Policy Dimensions. 2009; 8(4):278-290.
Disaster communication on the Internet: A focus on mobilizing information. Andrea Tanner, et. al. Journal of Health Communication. 2009; 14(8):741-755.
The role of news media in natural disaster risk and recovery.Brian Miles and Stephanie Morse. Ecological Economics. 2007; 63(2-3):365-373.
Public and Mental health
**Authority to order hospital evacuation or sheltering-in-place in the Mid-Atlantic region. **Mehan McGinty, et. al. Health Security-Special Issue: Climate Change and Health Security. 2016; 14(2):78-85.
Eye of the storm: Impact of the 2004 hurricane season on Florida hospitals. Florida Hospital Association. Source: Florida Hospital Association. 2005.
A fire department community health intervention to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning following a hurricane. Matthew Levy, Jee J. Jenkins, and Kevin Seaman. PLoS Currents: Disasters. Feb. 18, 2014.
The impact of a series of hurricanes on the visits to two Central Florida emergency departments. Elke Platz, Herbert P. Cooper, Salvatore Silvestri and Carl F. Siebert. Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2007; 33(1): 39-46.
Psychological sequelae resulting from the 2004 Florida hurricanes: Implications for postdisaster intervention. Ron Acierno, et. al. American Journal of Public Health. 2007; 97(S1): S103-S108.
Use of outpatient mental health services by homeless veterans after hurricanes. Lisa M. Brown. Psychological Services. 2013; 10(2):250-256.
Storm Surge
Hurricane Storm Surge Modeling for the Florida Southeast Coastline. M.S. Gosselin; D.M. Sheppard; T.L. Glasser.
Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005 Louise Wallendorf, Lesley Ewing, Spencer Rogers and Chris Jones (eds.). American Society of Civil Engineers. 2005. Pp. 96-105.
Tourism
Disaster Evacuation and the Tourist Industry / Thomas E. Drabek. Source: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado. Monograph #57. 1994.
Disaster Evacuation Behavior: Tourists and Other Transients / Thomas E. Drabek. Source: Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado. Monograph #58. 1996.
Recovering destination from devastation: tourism, image, and economy along the hurricane coasts / Ronald L. Schumann III. Source: Southeastern Geographer. 2016 53(2): 136-156.
Understanding tourists during disaster / Thomas E. Drabek. Source: Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 1997. 11(4): 14-18.
News and News Releases
News Articles
Matthew Heads Toward the United States
Hurricane Matthew: Strongest storm since 2004 nears Florida
BBC, October 6.
A detailed breakdown of impacts facing Florida’s east coast from Hurricane Matthew
Washington Post, October 6.
Hurricane Matthew, now a Category 4 storm, forces evacuations as it approaches Florida
Washington Post, October 6.
Bahamas hit by storm as Florida braces for Hurricane Matthew's arrival.
The Guardian, October 6.
Evacuations Continue as Florida Braces for Hurricane Matthew Impact
Slate, October 6.
Evacuations
Hurricane Matthew Approaches Florida; Governor Urges 1.5 Million to Flee
New York Times, October 6.
How to Move 2 Million People Out of Hurricane Matthew’s Way
Wired, October 6.
Storm Dynamics
Hurricane Matthew Could Make a U-Turn and Hit Florida Twice
Time, October 6.
Hurricane Matthew's loop back to Florida would be 'unprecedented'
USA Today, October 6.
The Science Behind Hurricane Matthew's Unexpected Course Change
Live Science, October 6.
Questions and Answers on Hurricane Matthew
New York Times, October 6.
Economic and Infrastructure Impacts
How much economic damage will Hurricane Matthew unleash?
USA Today, October 6.
Florida's utilities on 'new ground' with Hurricane Matthew
CNBC, October 6.
Matthew's Impact on Haiti
Haiti Says Nearly 300 Died in Hurricane Matthew
New York Times, October 6.
Death toll from Hurricane Matthew surpasses 300 as Haiti tallies devastation
Washington Post, October 6.
The Situation in Haiti Is Dire After Matthew. It’s Going to Get Worse
Slate, October 5.
Why is Haiti vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters?
The Guardian, October 4.
Haiti Could Be Dealing with Matthew’s Impacts for Years to Come
WXShift, October 4.
Hurricanes and Climate Change
Hurricanes will worsen as planet warms and sea levels rise, scientists warn
The Guardian, October 6.
News Releases
The Whitehouse's Hurricane Matthew: What You Need to Know
October 6, 2016.
USGS Installs Storm-Tide Sensors along Atlantic Coast prior to Hurricane Matthew’s Arrival
October 5, 2016.