(Bloomberg) -- While the wind speed of a hurricane may grab all the headlines, it's usually the accompanying storm surge that causes the most destruction.
About half of all hurricane deaths are from surge and in the U.S. “nine out of 10 people die in the water,” said Rick Knabb, a hurricane expert at the Weather Channel in Atlanta, and a former director of the National Hurricane Center.
Storm surge -- or a wall of water -- can be so dangerous that in 2015 the hurricane center began to issue separate warnings and watches. Such advisories have now been posted across southern Florida's coast as Irma approaches while surge of 20 feet could sweep across the Turks and Caicos Islands.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Doan at ldoan6@bloomberg.net, Stephen Cunningham, Jim Efstathiou Jr.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
