Inland Communities Bear The Brunt Of Hurricane-Related Floods

When most people think of hurricanes, they think of mighty storm surges pounding coastal communities. But a team of researchers who studied 28 hurricanes from 2001 to 2014 found that freshwater flooding, sometimes thousands of miles inland, can cause even greater destruction."The number of insured residential losses from freshwater flooding is twice as high as that from storm surge," says Gabriele Villarini, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate director of IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering at the University of Iowa. "Hurricanes are not just a coastal problem," he adds.