Could the USA deal with a Hurricane Katrina every two years?
Such a scenario is possible by the end of the century due to
climate change, according to a study published Monday in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The frequency
of extreme storm surges - the deadly and devastating walls of
water that roar ashore during hurricanes - is projected to
increase by as much as 10 times in coming decades because of
warming temperatures, the study finds. Global warming has
already doubled the chance of storms like Katrina, according to
the study, which was led by climate scientist Aslak Grinsted of
the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Storm surge is
typically the biggest killer from hurricanes, and also usually
causes the most destruction: Katrina killed more than 1,800
people and caused $125 billion in damage, mostly from storm
surge, while Sandy last year killed dozens and caused at least
$50 billion in damages. Grinsted's research shows that there
will be a tenfold increase in frequency of stor