but it's the rainy weak storms that kill people in the developed world.
While what you say is true, the third world isnt the only place on earth affected by TS's and minimal hurricanes. My worst huricane memmory is not from Charley, or even Andrew ...but from a little storm named Irene. Heck, I think it only gusted just over hurricane strength, yet with rain measuring by the foot, Irene managed to do more damage to my home than any other hurricane that I have been through --and there wasn’t even an eye to get. I suppose that this reinforces the concept that all tropical cyclones can be deadly. A chief concern among hurricane planners is the lack of education among costal communities having never experienced a hurricane, or perhapes worse yet, a minor one, giving themselves a false sense of security. Now, in the case of my town the general attitude among people when threatened with a minimal hurricane is" It is only a CAT 2... Im not even putting my shutters up!" People figure that if they survived a storm like Charley, than somthing like Frances won't touch em. So in a sense, overconfidence can be just as deadly as under appreciation.
that's what i was saying above. inland flooding with weaker storms is the big killer in the developed world (e.g. US in our basin). this is true in much of the developing world as well.. coastal surge and high winds seldom account for as many deaths as was the case earlier last century. -HF