We were just caught by a storm whose intensity exceeded the protection that we had in place" (Handwerk, 2005, p. 1). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asserts that when a hurricane occurs, "Acceptable risks must be weighed, including the statistical likelihood of catastrophic events and the possible consequences" (Handwerk, 2005, p. 1). The more unprepared people and emergency disaster personnel are when hurricanes strike, the greater their potential damage in property and human lives.
Planning for a hurricane is complex, however, because hurricanes pose a variety of threats to a community. High-speed destructive winds can rip roofs off buildings, carry automobiles and livestock into the air, and make twisted metal and other debris airborne. A storm that starts out as a hurricane on the coast can spawn a tornado when it arrives inland, extending the area of damage and injury. In 2004, for example, there were not only an unusually high number of "significant and damaging landfalling tropical cyclones"
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