Is the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane-Strength Scale Costing Lives?
actual stand on the issues. People affected by hurricanes are conditioned to make decisions about evacuation based on the category number just as most Americans have been conditioned to vote along party lines. Clearly, this can present a tremendous problem. As tropical storm Fay proved a storm need not even be strong enough to become a hurricane to be deadly and dangerous. A category 1 hurricane sounds fairly easy to deal with and a category 2 storm only seems barely worse. But the difference between a weak category 1 and a strong category 2 is an extraordinary 35 miles per hour. That is the difference between a relatively strong downpour and losing a good part of your roof. By slicing these devastation level into such large and, let’s face it, pretty meaningless levels, it becomes increasingly easy to underestimate or even overestimate the potential for damage. If you are being told the hurricane has reached a category 4 when you start making plans to evacuate and just before you make
