HURRICANES CAN BE HELPFUL

Usually, the words hurricane and helpful are never in the same sentence. Today I will attempt to marry them. Because we analyze hurricanes through the lenses of human activity, we limit our perspective. We see only destruction, disaster, adversity and tragedy. Our perspective will be quite different if we viewed hurricanes through the lenses of nature.

I found Jonathan Belles’ 2017 article to be extremely helpful in pulling this commentary together. Jonathan contends that there are at least five benefits of hurricanes.

In the first place, hurricanes bring rainfall to areas that need rainfall. Hurricanes are extremely efficient at rainfall production, and thus, can also be efficient drought busters. For instance, moisture from decaying hurricanes in the eastern Pacific occasionally gets caught up in the west-to-east flow of the United States, and reaches the Desert Southwest. These regions are desperate for rain, so an influx of moisture from a hurricane could be good news.

Hurricanes also break-up bacteria and red tide. As hurricanes move across the ocean, winds and waves toss the water. This mixing breaks up patches of bacteria that lurk in the water and can bring an earlier end to the red tide. Red Tide or algae blooms, deplete water of oxygen, discolor the waves and release toxins into the water. These tides kill, more specifically, fish, dolphins, manatees and many other animals in the ocean. Hurricanes help to oxygenate the near surface waters, helping to return life to areas where the red tide once existed.

In the third place, hurricanes help provide global heat balance. Said differently, hurricanes bring a temperature balance between the north/south poles and the equator. The earth is always trying to spread warmth around the world, and hurricanes are one of the primary ways this is done. Due to their size and interactions with the upper levels of the atmosphere, hurricanes are very efficient movers of equatorial heat. The equator would be considerably warmer, and the north/south poles could be significantly cooler if hurricanes did not exist.

Hurricanes replenish Barrier Islands. These are long broad sandy islands lying parallel to shores that are built up by the action of waves, currents, and winds and that protect shores from the effects of the ocean. Hurricanes have the power to pick-up substantial amounts of sand, nutrients and sediment from the bottom of the ocean to barrier islands. Storm surge, wind and waves will often move these islands closer to the mainland as sand is pushed or pulled in that direction. Without hurricanes or artificial restoration, barrier islands would eventually shrink and sink into the ocean.

And finally, hurricanes replenish inland plant life. As hurricanes make landfall, their wind blows spores and seeds further inland from where they would normally fall; this effect can be seen a thousand miles inland as storms move away from the shoreline. These seeds can replenish lost growth after fires and urbanization. Hurricanes often thin out tree foliage, which can be beneficial in firefighting efforts. The act of pruning trees as to mitigate damage can also help. Fresh nutrients and sediment brought in by hurricanes can spawn growth spurts in new plant life, which can later lead to upticks in animal life.

Agreed, hurricanes can cause much harm to human activity. So can rainfall. The difference is that we have learned to protect ourselves from the possible harm that rain brings. However, because of the wind force of hurricanes we need to be more prepared. Science has helped us to predict hurricane seasons, hurricane paths and the severity of hurricanes. When we fail to adequately prepare ourselves, we experience destruction, disaster, adversity and tragedy.

However, when viewed through the lenses of nature, we see hurricanes as uniquely designed to be a vital part of our ecosystem. Did I say designed? You bet I did say designed. The word suggests that organisms, as well as forces of nature were created. There was order and intention in their formation. The times, seasons, tides, elements, weather, reproduction, and all the cycles of life, growth, and death are orchestrated by Him. Each plays its role in God’s glorious harmony in nature and is given for humans to enjoy. Remember to thank God for hurricanes and prepare yourselves to live with their intensity.