/ Hyperbole alert on
I can't respond back to the other locked Hurricane V thread, but it looks like I was more wrong and you were less wrong ;)
It's not squared, or tripled, it increases 500 or a 1000 fold.
/ Hyperbole alert off
From Miami newspaper via
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/nation/12501379.htm
"A Category 5 hurricane does not cause five times as much damage as a Category 1. It causes 500 to 1,000 times the damage, hurricane scientists say, because the power of a storm increases exponentially as wind speeds grow."
It's not squared, or tripled, it increases 500 or a 1000 fold.How do you 'grade' damage: above a certain windspeed threshold EVERYTHNG except stubs of reinforced-concrete remain standing, and winds extending out from the center tend to 'tail off' down to something survivable in the 60-70 MPH range ...
Same theory as earthquakes.