Hurricane Irene Threatens 65 million People In USA

2010 was a pretty serious year for Atlantic hurricanes. The season tied with 1995 and 1887 for the third largest number of named storm, with 19, and tied with 1969 for the second largest number of hurricanes, with 12. One of those hurricanes—Earl—reached Category 4 status, with winds hitting a maximum of 145 mph, stronger than anything we've yet seen from Hurricane Irene. Danielle, another 2010 hurricane, also hit Category 4, albeit with weaker winds, and Hurricane Alex caused over $18 billion worth of damage in Mexico. Yet for the U.S., the 2010 hurricane season was remembered as a snooze. Not one storm made landfall on the continental U.S.—indeed, Irene will likely be our first since 2008—and even the powerful Earl eventually veered off into the Atlantic, causing little damage.



2010 should be a reminder that it's not just the strength or frequency of storms alone that matter—it's where they hit. That's especially important for Hurricane Irene, which has 65 million people in its sights—more than 20% of the U.S. population—as it bears down the East Coast. Irene is a pretty big storm—Category 2 right now, with winds and rain that extend unusually far from its eye. But the reason Irene is, in the words of President Obama, a "historic hurricane," isn't so much because of its strength, but because of where it's hitting—and what. There's a lot of wealth and a lot of people in the path of the storm, and the damage will be costly.