Tropical Storm Ian is marching toward the Gulf Coast of the Situs Slot Gacor., a region quite vulnerable to hurricanes.
The underwater geology of the Gulf of Mexico is what makes the Gulf Coast particularly unguarded to the massive influx of seawater, Michael Brennan, acting deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, told ABC News.
The symmetry of the Gulf of Mexico, with its shallow, sloping continental Slot Gacor, allows the storm surge to be pushed even higher onto land, Brennan said.
Because the land around the Gulf Coasts is typically flat, that exacerbates the flooding even more and allows the storm surge to travel farther inland, Brennan said.
“Of all of the hazards of hurricanes –- winds, rain, storm surges –- surges are what can cause the largest loss of life,” Brennan said.
The Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area, one of the regions bracing for Ian, is especially vulnerable to storm surge flooding but has avoided a direct hit from a strong hurricane since 1921.
Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization that analyzes and reports on climate science, has calculated the 100-year flood height in the Tampa Bay area at 6.5 feet. There are more than 125,000 homes in the region currently situated below that flood level.
-ABC News’ Max Golembo