The reason hurricanes seem more destructive now is population growth.
For example, how many more people live in Florida today versus Hurricane Andrew a Cat 5 storm that hit South Florida back in the early 90s and it’s not just Florida, it’s all over the Southern Atlantic and Gulf States.
If hurricane Ian that hit today had hit back in the 1960s or earlier like the 1930s, how many people who have been affected ?? The biggest damage would have been to the alligators and snakes in the Everglades.
Also, 24-hour news and weather channels.
Yep, the Punta Gorda and Cape Coral Metro area has 1 million inhabitants.
Back when I lived in Florida, it was about a tenth of that number. I worked in Punta Gorda for a summer, it was a fairly small then.
That's not even the case. The most destructive and the highest death toll hurricane in US history was in 1900, when America had a vastly lower population.
The Galveston Hurricane caused massive destruction and a record death toll. It is easily considered to be the worst storm to hit the United States.
Same reason desert states have issues with water.