Deadly Legacy: Hurricanes Beginning with ‘I’ Continue to Wreak Havoc Along Atlantic Coast
As Hurricane Idalia approaches the Atlantic coast, residents in Florida, Georgia, and other states in its path are hoping to avoid another devastating storm starting with the letter ‘I.’ And with good reason – since 1955, a staggering 13 hurricane names beginning with ‘I’ have been retired, more than any other letter in the alphabet. This dubious distinction makes ‘I’ a marker of the most destructive storms nature can unleash, according to the National Weather Service.
The World Meteorological Organization, responsible for storm naming, retires names when a hurricane’s death toll or destruction reaches such severe levels that reusing the name would be insensitive. When it comes to the alphabetical storm-naming list, ‘I’ is often the turning point as the hurricane season typically reaches its peak around this time.
The dominance of retired ‘I’ storm names is followed by 10 ‘F’ names and nine ‘C’ names. But hurricanes beginning with ‘I’ hold a particular notoriety for their devastation. Not only have 13 ‘I’ names been retired from Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, but a few Pacific Ocean storms starting with ‘I’ have also met the same fate since 1982.
The practice of using easily memorable names like ‘I’ and others began in 1953 to enhance warning efficiency and avoid confusion. Prior to this, warnings were broadcasted with numbers and names, leading to a higher risk of confusion among the public. By the late 1970s, male names were also introduced for storms in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Reflecting on some notorious ‘I’-named storms, Hurricane Isabel in 2003 reached Category 5 strength over the Atlantic, causing extensive damage despite weakening before making landfall. Hurricane Ivan, in 2004, decimated 95 percent of the buildings in Grand Cayman island and claimed over 92 lives as it battered the United States. Hurricane Ike in 2008 left a trail of destruction and led to the deaths of at least 74 people in Haiti alone before making landfall in Texas.
Hurricane Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the open Atlantic Ocean, devastated several Caribbean islands in 2017. It destroyed an estimated 90 percent of structures on Barbuda and caused widespread damage and deaths across multiple islands.
More recently, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana in 2021, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people and resulting in several deaths, including nursing home residents who had sought shelter in a warehouse.
Now, with the arrival of Hurricane Idalia, anxiety is high as residents brace themselves for the potential impact. With the historical precedent set by previous ‘I’-named storms, it is understandable why concern looms large.
As communities along the Atlantic coast hope to avoid adding another ‘I’ to the list of retired storm names, the focus remains on preparedness and safety. Let us hope that Hurricane Idalia will pass without leaving a long-lasting, devastating legacy like its storm-name predecessors.
