Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms

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Hurricane Rita

Pre- and Post-Storm 3D Topography:

Holly Beach

Before and After Photo Comparisons:

Cameron Parish

Coastal Vulnerability:

Potential Coastal Impacts

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Hurricane Rita

Science and the Storms: the USGS Response to the Hurricanes of 2005

This report is designed to give a view of the immediate response of the USGS to four major hurricanes of 2005: Dennis, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Topics vary from flooding and water quality to landscape and ecosystem impacts, from geotechnical reconnaissance to analyzing the collapse of bridges and estimating the volume of debris.

Read the report: USGS Circular 1306

Hurricane Rita made landfall as a category 3 storm near Sabine Pass, Texas on September 24, 2005. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the University of New Orleans, Louisiana State University, and the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology cooperated in a research project investigating coastal change that resulted from Hurricane Rita.

Aerial video, still photography, and laser altimetry surveys of post-storm beach conditions were collected for comparison with earlier data. The comparisons show the nature, magnitude, and spatial variability of coastal changes such as beach erosion, overwash deposition, and island breaching. These data will also be used to further refine predictive models of coastal impacts from severe storms and are made available to local, state, and federal agencies for purposes of disaster recovery and erosion mitigation.

Coastal Change from Lidar

Lidary surveys reveal erosion and detruction.

Before and After Photos

See coastal change from Cameron Parish.

Related links:

2005 Hurricane Season Tropical Cyclone Reports
Synoptic history, meteorological statistics, casualties, damages, & storm track info from the National Hurricane Center

Preparing for Future Hurricanes—USGS Briefing Reveals Lessons from Katrina and Rita
Sound Waves article

St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center > Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms > Hurricane Rita

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