jason0509 wrote:Slightly off the main topic,
But I've noticed how category 4/5 hurricanes have a lot lower casualty and damage toll when they hit say Cancun, Cozumel or say Central America versus when they hit the CONUS.
CONUS seems to struggle to deal with canes a lot more than those areas and canes are far more devastating there.
Same with Canada. Look at Juan. It was just a cat 2 and remarkably devastating.
Look at Wilma. It made landfall in Cozumel at what 150 mph and killed remarkably few people. Wilma hitting CONUS at 150 would have been an unprecedented disaster.
Carribbean and Mexico seems better made for these storms than U.S./Canada and can handle them better. Heck, Look at Cuba. Has done very well with the threats over the past few years.
Mitch was a rare exception. And the other example some might cite is Hurricane Joan I believe. I call 150 people dying from a cat 4 in Central America years ago pretty lucky and the death toll would be much higher in CONUS/Canada.
So, in fact, I don't think there is anything evil when posters say they hope massive hurricanes don't hit the CONUS. If they have to go somewhere, the Carribbean/Central America is a much better place for them.
Of course, recurving east of Bermuda is best.
First off, this thread came to me as being entirely insensitive. Who is the original poster to say that there is a greater concern to the CONUS? Just because you don't see them posting on here, doesn't mean they aren't concerned. All of Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean have just as much a chance of getting hit, and, destruction, while it may not be rivaled in terms of damages(although I heavily disagree because Mexico consistently underreports damages, and the fact that very few places are insured, so uninsured damage is never reported), it means just as much to every one of those people affected by tropical cyclones, no matter what country they call home.
And, to address the post I quoted, if you visit, say, Cozumel, you will find almost every single building made out of rebar concrete and brick, and it will take a lot more than high winds to take those buildings out, in fact, most buildings in Mexico are built in this manner, making surge and freshwater flooding the main killers, therefore you will never see a repeat of Andrew in Cancun.
But when a tropical cyclone strikes anywhere on this planet, there are people affected, lives ruined, and so on. So please, keep that in mind when making statements such as these. You're bound to hit a nerve.
