Could a Hurricane Katrina strike the Middle Atlantic states?
Yes! The two major coastal urban areas, Hampton Roads, Va., and New York City metropolitan area have had close encounters with hurricanes. Category 2 hurricanes nearly struck the Hampton Roads area in 1933 and 1936. Category 3–Katrina strength hurricanes–have tracked fewer than 50 miles offshore. The low-lying area, which is located in southeastern Virginia, has a population of more than a million. A direct hit of a Category 3 or stronger hurricane could inundate the homes of more than a half million residents. Category 1 hurricanes have tracked over or within a few miles of New York City in 1821, 1893 and 1976. A Category 3 hurricane came ashore on Long Island, within 60 miles of New York City, in 1938. That disaster killed 600 people in New England. While an extremely rare event–it has not happened in the past 400 years–a Category 3 or stronger hurricane might follow a path much closer to the New York metropolitan area than the storm of 1938. Casualties could exceed the more than
