“If there are things that emergency managers would do differently, or the public might do differently because a storm has 195 mph winds versus 160 mph winds, then maybe the categories should be changed,” he said. “Personally, I’m getting out of the way if it’s 165 mph winds or 195 mph winds.”
A valid issue, there’s not much point to adding a category if there’s nothing extra that needs to be done for it.
Still, though, I can imagine there being a few possible issues. If a hurricane is strong enough that it’s going to literally level a city completely, like the 1900 Galveston hurricane that killed 8000 people and is the reason that Houston is the biggest city in Texas instead, then that might change some decisions when it comes to how to go about evacuating. I don’t live anywhere that a hurricane would ever hit, but if I knew “my house is likely to be damaged or maybe collapse” versus “my house is going to be erased so thoroughly you’d need GPS to know where it once stood” then I’d put different stuff in my car before getting out of town.
A valid issue, there’s not much point to adding a category if there’s nothing extra that needs to be done for it.
Still, though, I can imagine there being a few possible issues. If a hurricane is strong enough that it’s going to literally level a city completely, like the 1900 Galveston hurricane that killed 8000 people and is the reason that Houston is the biggest city in Texas instead, then that might change some decisions when it comes to how to go about evacuating. I don’t live anywhere that a hurricane would ever hit, but if I knew “my house is likely to be damaged or maybe collapse” versus “my house is going to be erased so thoroughly you’d need GPS to know where it once stood” then I’d put different stuff in my car before getting out of town.
The category may help estimate the damage before it happens and allow for some planning.