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Hurricanes category 3 or stronger since 1970: category 3 1998; category 3 2004
Trend in frequency of hazard events: two major hurricanes since 1998
Population trend since 1970: increasing, more than 200,000 (about double) during this period
Almost half of the people living in the United States live near the coast and the numbers are increasing. As the coastal population continues to grow, more people and property are exposed to hazards caused by hurricanes, tsunamis, shoreline erosion and other natural hazards. Homes and businesses are often built in low-lying areas and on barrier islands that are particularly vulnerable to these hazards.
The potentially disastrous consequences of this trend became obvious during the summer of 2004 when residents of Florida were battered by four major hurricanes within six weeks, resulting in billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Similar consequences made global headlines in August of 2005 when Hurricane Katrina wrought havoc on Gulf Coast communities in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Much of the cost of these events is eventually borne by American taxpayers through federal government funds for for disaster relief and reconstruction.
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