Hurricanes by the Numbers
Millions live in
the paths of the biggest storms
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
In Harm's Way
34.9
million
Estimated July 1, 2006, population most threatened by
Atlantic hurricanes: the coastal portion of the states stretching from North
Carolina to Texas. 12% of the nation’s population lived in these
areas.
10.2 million
The 1950 coastal population
of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. 7% of the
nation’s population resided in these areas.
24.8
million
Number of people added to the Atlantic and Gulf
coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas between 1950 and 2006. Florida
alone was responsible for the bulk of this increase (almost 15 million).
244%
Percentage growth of the coastal population of
the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas between 1950 and
2006.
180,155
Collective land area, in square
miles, of the coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas.
3
of the 20 most populous metro areas in 2006 that were within
Atlantic or Gulf coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas. These areas are
Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas (sixth); Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami
Beach, Fla. (seventh), and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (19th).
Andrea
The name given to the first Atlantic storm
of 2007. The next Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean storm will be named
Barry.
About 50 to 100
Number of people
killed by hurricanes striking the U.S. coastline in an average three-year
period.
Florida
17.6 million
Estimated
2006 coastal population of Florida, accounting for half of the coastal
population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Among the
Sunshine State’s coastal population, 10.5 million lived along the
Atlantic and 7.1 million along the Gulf.
1.7%
Percentage growth of Florida’s coastal
population between 2005 and 2006.
352 people per square
mile
The 2006 population density of Florida’s coastal
areas. The Sunshine State leads the entire area between North Carolina and
Texas in coastal population density.
Hurricanes Past
38,000
Population of Galveston, Texas, at the time
of the city's devastating hurricane of 1900. At that time, Galveston, Dallas
and Houston had similar populations.
57,466
Galveston's population in 2006—nowhere
near that of Dallas (1,213,825) and Houston (2,016,582).
331,917
Population of Charleston County, S.C., in
2006. The county was devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, when its
population was 295,000, but has rebounded nicely since.
452,170
Estimated population of New Orleans on July
1, 2005—about two months before Hurricane Katrina struck.
223,388
Estimated population of New Orleans on July
1, 2006 — less than one year after Hurricane Katrina struck. The
city’s population was down 50.6% from a year earlier.
1950
The year the Weather Bureau officially began
naming hurricanes.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
