The north Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts through November. This year’s season comes on the heels of last year’s record-breaker, in which there were 28 named storms, including 15 hurricanes. Seven of the hurricanes were considered “major” — four of them striking the United States. This edition of the Facts for Features spotlights the number of people residing in the areas that could be most affected by these acts of nature.

In Harm’s Way
34.6 million
Estimated July 1, 2005, population of the area most threatened by Atlantic hurricanes – the coastal portion of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. At that time, 12 percent of the nation’s population resided in these areas. (Source: Special tabulation)

10.2 million
The 1950 coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Seven percent of the nation’s population resided in these areas. (Source: Special tabulation)

24.4 million
Number of people added to the Atlantic and Gulf coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas between 1950 and 2005. Florida alone was responsible for the bulk of this increase (almost 15 million). (Source: Special tabulation)

240%
Percentage growth of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas between 1950 and 2005. (Source: Special tabulation)

180,155
Collective land area, in square miles, of the coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas. (Source: Special tabulation)

3 . . .
. . . of the 20 most populous metro areas are located within Atlantic or Gulf coastal areas from North Carolina to Texas. These areas are Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla. (sixth), Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, Texas (seventh); and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (20th).
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/005708.html>

Alberto
The name that will be given to the first Atlantic storm of 2006. (Tropical Storm Alberto, in 1994, remains as the worst natural disaster in Georgia’s history. The name was not retired and was reused in 2000, and it will be used again this year.) <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics.shtml>

About 50 to 100
Number of people killed by hurricanes striking the U.S. coastline in an average three-year period.
<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics.shtml>

Florida
17.3 million
Estimated 2005 coastal population of Florida, accounting for half of the coastal population of the states stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Among the Sunshine State’s coastal population, 10.4 million resided along the Atlantic and 7.0 million along the Gulf. (Source: Special tabulation)

487%
Percentage growth of Florida’s coastal population between 1950 and 2000. Among the states along the Atlantic coast between North Carolina and Texas, Florida had the highest rate of growth in its coastal population over that period. The Sunshine State followed that up with 2.3 percent coastal population growth from 2004 to 2005, which again led the region. (Source: Special tabulation)

346 people per square mile
The 2005 population density of Florida’s coastal areas. The Sunshine State leads the entire area between North Carolina and Texas in coastal population density. (Source: Special tabulation)

Port St. Lucie and Flagler, Fla.
The nation’s reigning fastest-growing city and county, respectively. Both places are located along Florida’s Atlantic coast. Similarly, Palm Coast, located between the Jacksonville, Fla., and Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Fla., metro areas, is the reigning fastest-growing micropolitan statistical area.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/006563.html>
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/005268.html>
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/005708.html>

Hurricanes Past
38,000
Population of Galveston, Texas, at the time of the city’s devastating hurricane of 1900. At that time, Galveston, Dallas and Houston had similar populations. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/techpap.html>

57,000
Galveston’s population in 2004 — nowhere near that of Dallas and Houston.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/005268.html>

330,000
Population of Charleston County, S.C., in 2005. The county was devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, when its population was 295,000, but has rebounded nicely since.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/006563.html>

455,000
Estimated population of New Orleans on July 1, 2005 – about two months before Hurricane Katrina struck. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/006563.html>

Note: Coastal counties include those with at least 15 percent of their total land area within the nation’s coastal watershed.

“Special Editions” of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Facts for Features are issued to provide background information for less known observances, anniversaries of historic events and other timely topics in the news.