Rainfall and Inland Flooding: The Hazard That Reaches Farthest

Wind and surge get the headlines, but in recent years the rain has become the deadliest part of a hurricane — and it kills people who thought they were safe because they live far from the coast. The hazard that's now number one Over the half-century from 1963 to 2012, rainfall-induced freshwater flooding caused about 27% of direct U.S. hurricane deaths — already the single most common cause. In the most recent decade that share has jumped to roughly 57%: today, more people die in tropical systems from freshwater flooding than from any other hazard. And most of it happens inland — historically…