ECU geography poster details hurricane phenomena

A poster about the particulars of hurricanes was developed this year by East Carolina University’s Department of Geography and the student organization Geoclub. The poster, “Tempests from the Tropics: Atlantic & Gulf Coast Hurricanes,” was produced by ECU students as part of an annual project designed to educate the public about issues in current events. The free map will be available in area schools, public libraries and Barnes & Noble Booksellers.

In the past two years, faculty and students worked together to produce and distribute map posters on Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively. This year, the group chose to design an informational poster on hurricanes because of the traumatic impact that these events have on life in North Carolina.

“This is particularly the case in light of the continuing aftermath of Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and the more recent damage caused by Hurricane Isabel in 2003,” said ECU Geography professor Derek Alderman.

Made with state of the art geospatial data and technology, the poster contains graphic illustrations and photographs and explains how hurricanes form, how much death and property damage they can cause, how they are named and why hurricanes take the unique geographic path they do toward North Carolina.