A new virtual reality simulation will use the idea that “seeing is believing” to show people why coastal evacuation orders are so important during storms. The simulation, called “Weather the Storm,” was funded by the NOAA’s Weather Program Office and created through a partnership between the University of Georgia, Clemson University, Georgia Sea Grant and South Carolina Sea Grant to improve storm surge preparation.
When a tropical storm or hurricane approaches the coast, the wind can push large amounts of water onto land as storm surge. Between 1963 and 2012, storm surge was responsible for nearly half (49%) of direct deaths from Atlantic tropical cyclones in the United States. Data indicates that from 2013 to 2022, storm surge accounted for 11% of direct deaths from tropical cyclones, a decrease from the 49% observed between 1963 and 2012. This suggests that public outreach and improved forecasting have contributed to a relative reduction in storm surge fatalities. Storm surge remains a dangerous and often misunderstood threat, however. In 2022, 41 people died as a result of storm surge from Hurricane Ian.
