Hurricane Florence

https://forums.adobe.com/people/D+Fosse  wrote jane-e   wrote In another part of the world, Typhoon Mangkhut Mangkhut hit the Philippines as a full category 5 hurricane. Florence was downgraded to category 1 before it reached the coast. Of course, wind speed is only part of the story.

We saw that on our news, but it can't reflect the full story, as the impact has been so strong.  Is it because it was slow moving?  The fact that it was downgraded might be a bad thing, as it will slow down and spend more time at a given location.  I believe it also covers a greater than usual area, which would be why so many people have been affected.

Are hurricane category designations just wind speed dependant? 

There might be other factors like coinciding with a King Tide, or the so call Storm Surge that batters the coast with solid walls of water. 

What is the terrain like where it has hit?  I live 16 kilometres from the coast, but we are just 5 metres ASL, and two kilometers from here it is just 3M ASL.  We are being warned that a 9.0 earthquake is likely in our lifetime, and we are by no means safe from the resulting tsunami even this far inland.

Unravelling the risk from the killer faults threatening central New Zealand | Stuff.co.nz

Like Nancy says, it is crazy to deny Global Warming, but it seems that some people have a short term vested interest in doing so, and to hell with the planet and the people who come after us.