Audubon Releases One-Month Hurricane Florence Damage Assessment Report

Hurricane Florence was the wettest storm on record ever to hit the Carolinas, causing billions of dollars in damage, and deadly consequences for people and wildlife. Even as many are still struggling to recover, hurricane season is still upon us and durable solutions to protect our communities from storms are needed now, more than ever.

One solution to protect coastal and inland communities while saving taxpayer dollars is to improve and increase natural infrastructure such as wetlands, living shorelines, and barrier islands. For example, wetlands hold and slow water, preventing flooding, mitigating wave strength, and decreasing storm surge. In 2012 during Hurricane Sandy, wetlands prevented $625 million in property damages.

In response to Hurricane Florence, Audubon released a one-month damage assessment report, which explains how natural infrastructure protected the Carolinas, the impacts and lessons learned from this storm, and solutions to protect our coastal communities from deadly storms in the future. Read the assessment.