Many of these people have been through weaker storms. The result is a false impression of a hurricane's damage potential. This often leads to complacency and delayed actions which could result in the loss of many lives. With the tremendous increase in population along the high risk areas of our shorelines, we may not fare as well in the future. This will be especially true when hurricane activity inevitably returns to the frequencies experienced during the 40's through the 60's.
All hurricanes are dangerous, but some are more so than others.
The way storm surge, wind, and other factors combine determines the hurricanes destructive power. The criteria for each category are shown below.