Since 1985, the South Florida Metropolitan area (SFMA), which covers the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, has been directly affected by 9 tropical cyclones, four tropical storms and 5 hurricanes. This continuous hurricane and tropical storm activity has awakened the conscience of ... Show moreSince 1985, the South Florida Metropolitan area (SFMA), which covers the counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, has been directly affected by 9 tropical cyclones, four tropical storms and 5 hurricanes. This continuous hurricane and tropical storm activity has awakened the conscience of the communities, government, and private sector, about the social vulnerability, in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, and others. Several factors have also been significant enough to affect the vulnerability of the SFMA, like its geographic location which is at the western part of the Atlantic hurricane track, with a surface area of 6,137 square miles, and elevation of 15 feet. And second, from the 2006 Census estimate, this metropolitan area is the 7th most populous area in the United States supporting almost 1,571 individuals per square mile. Mortality levels due to hurricanes and tropical storms have fluctuated over the last 21 years without any signal of a complete reduction, a phenomenon that can be related to both; physical characteristic of the storms and government actions. Results reflect a lack of focus on hurricane and tropical storm related theme, while a decrease in funding can be the consequence of less interest and much more attention on less probably hazards with a long term recovery period, such as terrorism. Even though the government has an important role in hurricanes and tropical storms mitigation, some of the main ideas to decrease mortality are focused in networking between private and public sector and the understanding of self-vulnerability of each individual. Show less
