People have benefits of living in Florida. They can go to Disney, Sea World, or Busch Gardens. But there is one downside, they have to deal with hurricanes. There are many hurricanes that have hit Florida. Like hurricane Irma, Andrew, Dory and many others. For example, Irma had a huge impact on South Florida. They destroyed people's lives. Hurricanes have devastated the ecosystem.
When Hurricane Irma hit Florida, it was a Category 5 with steady 185 mph winds and gusts up to 199 mph. There were storm surges at 20 feet above storm surge levels. Wildlife took shelter or fled. This hurricane cost Florida $100 billion in damage.
Hurricane Dorian is another devastating hurricane to run up the East Coast of Florida. This is a hurricane that caused a lot of damage not just in Florida, but also in the Bahamas. When this hurricane formed, it formed with 65 mph winds. The hurricane leveled parts of the Bahamas, and hit Florida with 105 mph winds and hit with a bunch of rain. This storms severity caused a bunch of places to become valleys, and many people tragically died. The actual death toll was a tragic 59 people.
According to gameandfishmag.com the amount of deer hunters in Florida is 98,577. This same article says from the year 2013 to 2017 about 36 to 37 percent of the deer harvested are antlerless. Most of South Florida has anywhere between 0 to 999 deer says the same article. Mid Florida mostly has a range of 1000 to around 1999 deer. The Florida Pan Handle has a county average of over 2,000 deer by county population. But deer aren’t the only thing that makes up the ecosystem. Rabbits prefer to live in heavy marsh, briar patches or abandoned field to live in. There are two different types of rabbits that reside in Florida. They are the Eastern cottontail and the marsh rabbit. Turkeys and ducks are bird species that live in Florida. Osceola turkey is also known as the Florida turkey. They only live in Florida and nowhere else in the world. These birds roost up high in the trees and in the morning come down and eat until night then fly up. Wood ducks are a popular species in Florida. They prefer to stay in marshy and swampy areas. They roost or rest in cavities in the side of trees. These ducks actually live in Florida year-round unlike some who migrate north in the summer.
Animals make up a big part of Florida’s ecosystem, but trees and other plants play a big role in the ecosystem. Like what will hold down the soil, where animals live, and what they eat. Like going back on the rabbits, when a rabbit, coyote, or even fox burrow underground, all of the soil above the burrow would erode away leaving no home if plants don't grow there. Or wood ducks, where would they live if all of the trees were to fall and crumble, same with turkeys. Hurricanes can sadly cause all of these things by ripping trees out of the ground and drowning all of the grass. And also, what would deer and stuff eat if all of the plants lived no more. There are a bunch of trees that grow in Florida. Palm trees, pine trees, oak trees, and cypress just to name a few. 54.9 percent of the state of Florida is covered by trees. All of the rabbits, deer, turkey, and everything would die off if the whole state of Florida got wiped out by a massive hurricane. The trees and animals all mingle together as a whole as previously explained. But it could have a major impact on most species found in Florida.
All of this leads back to humans. So, the hurricanes cause damage to humans directly and indirectly. They can wipe out all of what are considered a human necessity. If a hurricane takes out all of the rabbits, what will fertilize the grass and what will smaller predators eat. Then the deer die off. Humans can not have any more deer sausage, and what will gators eat, what will fertilize the grass. Then all the grass dies because nothing can fertilize it. The good, healthy soil erodes. Well, all the trees get old and new ones can’t grow because of erosion. And now humans have lost a food source, and building material. And for all the hunters, what is there to hunt if this happens. There won't be a deer, rabbits, ducks, turkeys, and all of the other abundant game. Hurricanes can play a major role in the lives.
There is nothing that can prevent this, but if humans know what can happen just with one wrong move or one storm, they can fear a hurricane a little more and won’t try anything stupid.