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Título del libro: Extreme Magnitude Earthquakes And Their Direct Economic Impacts: A Hybrid Approach
Título del capítulo: Analysis of the Hazards and Vulnerability of the Cancun Beach System: The Case of Hurricane Wilma

Autores UNAM:
EDGAR GERARDO MENDOZA BALDWIN; RODOLFO SILVA CASARIN; CECILIA ELIZABETH ENRIQUEZ ORTIZ;
Autores externos:

Idioma:
Inglés
Año de publicación:
2015
Palabras clave:

Erosion; Hazards; Hurricane effects; Lakes; Storms; Tropics; Weather information services; Cancun beach system; Disorganized tourist development; Extreme weather events; Lagoon systems; Reanalysis; Beaches


Resumen:

This chapter assesses the hazards and vulnerability to tropical cyclones of the overdeveloped beach-lagoon system at Cancun in Mexico. Urbanization began in the late 1960s and has continued at a growing pace ever since. Before tourist development started, the beach-lagoon system functioned as a metastable beach, with erosion- accretion cycles and evidence of natural breaching in places. In this chapter, it is shown that the rapid, disorganized tourist development that has taken place has degraded the coastal beach-lagoon system, increasing its vulnerability to extreme weather events and dramatically reducing its resilience (destroying the high-beach sand reserves and impeding the possibility of breaching). The historical occurrence of tropical storms is also revised as some studies indicate that the average intensity of tropical cyclones is increasing; no definite trends pointing to an increase in storm frequency were found. However, the need to avoid storm-induced coastal damage (erosion and flooding) is reflected in the numerous projects that aim to improve the management of the area and reduce its vulnerability to hurricanes. The consequences seen today lead the authors to suggest that the effects of Hurricane Wilma on Cancun beach cannot be ascribed only to climatic variability since the anthropogenic activity had already degraded the system over recent decades. Nevertheless, it is recognized that Hurricane Wilma was a record-breaking extreme meteorological event. © 2016 by the American Geophysical Union. All rights reserved.


Entidades citadas de la UNAM: