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Natural disasters often unveil profound truths about human nature. Picture a storm hurling 49 billion kilograms (108 billion pounds) of water at a staggering speed of 251 kilometers per hour (156 mph) directly into your backyard—such moments reveal your true character.
As hurricanes surge past coastlines and devastate communities, they also expose the essence of human behavior. Surprisingly, people’s reactions can defy expectations, and the realities surrounding these catastrophic events often challenge common assumptions.
10. Walmart Shoppers Rush to Buy Pop-Tarts and Beer
As Hurricane Frances approached Florida, Walmart sprang into action. Armed with extensive customer data and insights into their lives, Walmart recognized an opportunity amidst the crisis. With thousands at risk, they aimed to capitalize on the situation.
By analyzing their data to forecast customer behavior, Walmart uncovered an unusual trend. When a storm loomed, customers prioritized beer and strawberry Pop-Tarts over essentials like water or flashlights.
The surge in demand is staggering. Beer becomes Walmart’s best-selling product, and Pop-Tart sales skyrocket by 700 percent before a hurricane. This pattern is so consistent that Walmart now dispatches additional shipments of stale breakfast pastries to meet the spike in demand.
This behavior isn’t universal. While Walmart customers stock up on beer and Pop-Tarts, Costco’s study in Hawaii revealed a different trend. There, customers focused on essentials like water and batteries to ensure their families’ survival.
Yet, Walmart shoppers have a unique approach. Facing imminent danger, they opt for a cold Pop-Tart and a lukewarm beer, settling in to brace for the storm with a mix of hope and resignation.
9. FEMA Relies on Waffle Houses to Gauge Disaster Recovery Progress
FEMA employs an unconventional method to assess disaster recovery. Instead of deploying teams for on-ground reports, they often simply contact the nearest Waffle House for updates on a community’s status.
Surprisingly, this has become FEMA’s official protocol. Waffle Houses are predominantly located in hurricane-prone regions and are known for keeping their low-wage employees on duty during storms, powered by generators. Since 2012, FEMA has partnered with Waffle House to receive direct updates on store operations.
A three-tier system categorizes recovery levels: “green” indicates a fully operational Waffle House, “yellow” means a limited menu is available, and “red” signifies that conditions are too hazardous even for Waffle House to remain open, prioritizing employee safety over serving late-night All-Star Breakfasts.
8. Hurricanes Were Given Human Names by a Meteorologist to Mock People
The practice of naming weather systems began with Clement Wragge, an Australian meteorologist. Unlike today’s systematic approach, Wragge named storms after whatever came to mind—often drawing from Greek gods and the names of beautiful women.
Eventually, he abandoned the “Greek god” theme and began assigning human names to hurricanes, driven by a sense of spite.
Wragge faced criticism from those who believed he was overly self-important, including some politicians who mocked him. In retaliation, he named cyclones after his detractors. For instance, he named storms after Australia’s first two prime ministers, Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin, so he could issue reports stating that Edmund Barton was “aimlessly drifting across the Pacific” and “causing widespread distress.”
The tradition of naming hurricanes after humans stems from the whims of a spiteful and humorous Australian meteorologist.
7. Early US Hurricanes Bore Names Like ‘Easy,’ ‘Love,’ and ‘How’
In 1950, the United States began naming hurricanes, but instead of using human names, they drew from the Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet. This resulted in peculiar storm names such as “Hurricane Easy,” “Hurricane Love,” and “Tropical Storm How.”
These names often didn’t match the storms’ intensity. For instance, “Hurricane Easy” was labeled the most severe hurricane in its region in over seven decades. It wreaked havoc on Cedar Key, destroying 95 percent of homes and devastating the local fishing industry, which was the backbone of the town’s economy.
A major issue was the limited pool of 26 names, which quickly ran out. Consequently, the government shifted to naming hurricanes after women, citing their “unpredictable” and temperamental nature—a rationale that, in the 1950s, was openly accepted without question.
6. Donors Are More Inclined to Contribute to Hurricanes Sharing Their First Initial
A peculiar study reveals that individuals are more likely to donate to hurricane relief efforts if the storm’s name resembles their own. Simply sharing the first letter of their name with the hurricane can double the likelihood of their contribution.
By analyzing Red Cross records, researchers discovered that donations consistently increased among individuals who shared a first initial with the storm. The effect was most pronounced with Hurricane Katrina, likely due to its extensive media coverage. Typically, names starting with “K” account for 5 percent of donors, but they represented 10 percent of contributions for Katrina.
Researchers suggest that people subconsciously associate the disaster with themselves. When the storm’s name mirrors their own, they feel a personal connection or responsibility, prompting them to offer more assistance.
One woman named Katrina raised $1,000 for storm victims, motivated by the unique coincidence. She told the press, “I realized my name will be remembered in history as one of the most devastating storms ever!”
5. Sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Remain on Duty During Hurricanes
Even during hurricanes, certain individuals cannot evacuate, such as the sentinels standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
This sacred site honors unidentified fallen US soldiers, and the guards are tasked with upholding their memory. When a hurricane strikes, they refuse to seek shelter, remaining outdoors amidst the storm’s fury.
During Hurricane Isabel, the guards were authorized to take cover indoors if winds exceeded 193 kilometers per hour (120 mph). However, they chose to stay outside, braving the hurricane to fulfill their duty.
Amid Hurricane Sandy, one guard chose to endure 23 hours in the storm’s fierce winds, risking his life to convey a powerful message: the fallen will never be forsaken.
4. US Hurricanes Originate in the Sahara Desert
The hurricanes that strike the United States embark on an extraordinary journey. Their formation is part of a complex chain reaction that begins thousands of miles away in the Africa’s Sahara Desert.
In the Sahara, intense heat generates rising air currents, forming massive storm clouds. These clouds are often driven westward toward the Atlantic Ocean, where they trigger significant disturbances. When the hot desert air collides with the cooler Atlantic air, the resulting turbulence spawns hurricanes approximately 10 percent of the time.
This implies that every hurricane striking the US East Coast begins with a metaphorical flutter of butterfly wings—or, more literally, the Sun’s heat radiating off desert sands.
3. Citizens Frequently Petition the Government to Bomb Hurricanes with Nuclear Weapons
Many individuals are convinced that nukes could solve the hurricane problem. In fact, the government receives numerous letters annually from civilians urging them to detonate a nuclear device in a hurricane.
While the government typically dismisses such proposals, this hasn’t always been the case. In 1961, the head of the US Weather Bureau stated that he could “envision the possibility of someday detonating a nuclear bomb on a hurricane far out at sea” and expressed confidence in its potential success.
In 1959, a man named Jack Reed devised a detailed plan to execute this idea. He proposed deploying a submarine into the storm to launch multiple nuclear missiles directly into the hurricane’s eye. He theorized that the explosions would displace the warm air in the eye with colder, denser air, thereby weakening the storm.
Unsurprisingly, the NOAA is not enthusiastic. “Needless to say, this is not a good idea,” they’ve stated. Beyond the unlikelihood of success, this approach would disperse radioactive fallout via trade winds across the globe. Even if it managed to destroy the hurricane, the risks of using nuclear force might outweigh the benefits.
2. A Professor Believes He Can Halt Hurricanes by Flying Jets Into Them
Professor Arkadii Leonov is confident he has a solution to stop hurricanes. “I can’t guarantee it will work,” he admits, but he proposes flying jets directly into the storm to disrupt it.
His strategy involves sending two supersonic jets into the hurricane’s eye. The jets would then circle the eye at Mach 1.5, generating a sonic boom of cool air capable of dismantling the storm entirely.
Leonov has been urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to test his theory. While he admits he lacks the mathematical proof to confirm its effectiveness, he remains confident and believes the NOAA should give it a try to see the results.
The NOAA, however, remains skeptical. “This is a bad idea,” they’ve responded to Leonov, adding that it might only result in “destroying a couple of airplanes and costing the lives of their pilots.”
1. Voodoo Practitioners in New Orleans Declined by 90 Percent After Hurricane Katrina
Among the many changes in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, one of the most unexpected was the dramatic decline in the voodoo community. Before the storm, there were 3,000 voodoo practitioners; afterward, the number plummeted to just 300.
Most voodoo practitioners were low-income African Americans, the demographic most severely affected by the hurricane. Many were unable to evacuate, leading to a disproportionately high number of voodoo followers losing their lives during the disaster.
Many others evacuated the city and never returned. Those who stayed found themselves emerging from their insular subculture. With the community drastically reduced, they had no choice but to assimilate into the broader culture of New Orleans, often abandoning their voodoo traditions.
Efforts are now underway in New Orleans to revive voodoo practices. However, 90 percent of the community has vanished, and most voodoo shops have closed. A tradition that endured for centuries was nearly eradicated by a single storm.
