Since these storms are fuelled by ocean heat, warmer ocean conditions will influence their intensity and longevity. This may enable them to travel farther over ocean water at higher latitudes, and farther across the continent after they make landfall. With global sea level rise expected to continue to accelerate through the 21st century, the impacts of coastal flooding from tropical cyclones is also expected to worsen. We have very recent reminders that these storms can be catastrophic.
Urban areas can take weeks or months to recover from the flooding caused by the storm surge, which can be compounded by heavy rainfall. Hurricanes that reach places that historically have not been affected have major and long-lasting impacts. An example is hurricane Sandy in , the largest storm on record in the Atlantic Ocean.
This storm made a westward turn that is very different from typical tropical hurricane tracks. Its waves and storm surge pounded the coasts of New Jersey and New York , with a huge impact washing over coastal dunes , eroding beaches and causing flooding in New York City.
Hurricanes can cause severe erosion and breach islands, creating new pathways for water flow between the ocean and back-barrier estuaries. As these storms impact land, they can also create a dangerous multi-hazard environment of fast-moving air, water and debris.
Urban coastal areas are under a major threat, since coastal structures may not have been designed for the waves and surges that these storms generate. The amount of damage a hurricane creates depends on the intensity and characteristics of the storm, combined with the physical and social setting of the coastal area that it hits.
Cities face a high risk of hurricane-related disasters, since they contain higher populations and more infrastructure. This can lead to widespread and catastrophic impacts, such as the massive storm surge and flooding generated by typhoon Haiyan , which lead to more than 6, deaths in the Philippines in Following a large clean-up operation, the new visitor centre and learning centre opened in April This is the first step towards designing a simple structure that can easily be taken down and re-built as an option for us to adapt to the eroding coastline.
The weather destroyed some of our beach access, washing away steps, and eroded cliffs but there are surprising positives from the seeming devastation. The material eroded in the storms has found its way along the shoreline and sections of beach on the south shore now have more sand on them than they have for some time. The beach at Formby is the fastest eroding stretch of coastline we look after. The weight and inflexibility of the concrete path, combined with non-stop rain and high tides, led to its collapse.
If it becomes damaged again, it could be removed, stored and then rebuilt with relative ease. Several metres of sand have returned and the dunes are now greening up with vegetation and have settled into a more natural slope rather than the cliff face that was left after the storms.
Looking to the future, a year management plan is being developed for South Milton Sands working closely with the local community. Changing storm patterns caused by global warming could dramatically increase the effects of coastal erosion. Most models of the effects of global warming on coastlines usually assume that rising sea-levels will affect shorelines uniformly along their length.
However, this fails to take account of the extra coastal erosion caused by strong waves from higher numbers of tropical storms, says Jordan Slott at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
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