What do you think when you hear the word hurricane? If you are like most people, you rapidly imagine tragedy and destruction scenarios. Historically, hurricanes have been associated with adverse events which we want to avoid. Even in some cultures, hurricanes have been seen as a divine punishment and a signal that gods were annoyed because of men’s actions. For example, in Mayan mythology, the god hurricane ( Hunracan in Maya, which means one leg) is mentioned as one of the thirteen humankind creators. The Mayas say that Hunracan was not satisfied with human society, so he started to wind, fire, and storm as a punishment. However, it was Hunracan who also acted after the deluge to make emerge again the land from the oceans. Currently, this negative connotation of hurricanes endures, and that’s no surprise; it is well known many human lives are lost due to hurricanes (e.g., The Katrina hurricane caused 1800 deaths in 2005), and they generate substantial millionaire losses annually (e.g., The Congressional Budget Office of US estimated a loss of $ 54000 millions for the country because of hurricanes in 2022). However, the negative side of hurricanes is not the entire history; hurricanes also have positive effects.
Hurricanes are natural weather regulators. They stabilize the temperature between the Poles and Ecuador, moving vast masses of warm wind, which decreases the temperature in the tropics. Without hurricanes, the poles would be significantly colder and the tropics warmer. For instance, in 2005, according to NASA reports, The Katrina and Rita hurricanes cold four grades the waters they touched and fresh one grade the Golf of Mexico. Hurricanes also carry life in the form of water. They move vast quantities of humidity that fall as rain that counteract droughts, fill the dams, and positively affect living beings.
Although it is difficult to believe, hurricanes also positively impact forest regeneration. The strong winds of a hurricane can uproot trees and break them. For example, Hurricane Fiona’s impact on Halifax showed what hurricane’s force could do to trees. However, not all is destruction at all. The hurricane’s winds mobilize spores and seeds beyond where they usually fall, dispersing the vegetal life. The winds also remove and spread the foliage of trees, which decreases the fire risk. Finally, hurricanes transport nutrients and sediments, which serve as a substrate for the new sprouts; moreover, hurricanes eliminate weak and diseased trees, which make room for new vegetation and contribute to the forest renovation process.
Sometimes, hurricanes can also have a cleaning effect on the environment. When hurricane winds touch the ocean superficies, they remove bacteria and toxins, generating smaller fragments and less concentrated; therefore, the risk for marine life decreases (e.g., dispersion of red tide – a toxic algae floriation- because of winds’ action). Hurricanes can also remove excess sediments. Sediments accumulate on rivers and littoral generating problems for coastal communities and wildlife. In this sense, hurricanes release energy capable of transporting sediments contributing to their cleaning.
These positive impacts of hurricanes make us remember the old belief that nature is wise and does not make mistakes or Richard Dawkins’s idea that “ nature is not kind, or cruel, nature is indifferent to human beings.” Thus, it is our work to avoid natural phenomena from turning into disasters.
Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash
