Nothing communicates the effects of a natural disaster quite like personal stories: the recounting of an 80-year-old man and his dog who survived Hurricane Hazel by hiding in a freezer; the image of a lone sailor perched atop the wreckage of his ship in the aftermath of the San Ciriaco Hurricane (1899).

A new website developed by RENCI at East Carolina University compiles images, personal stories, statistics, and maps that allow you to track past storms in an effort to raise awareness about dangerous coastal storms and how they affect coastal communities.

Storms to Life includes information about storms that have impacted North Carolina over the past 200-plus years. The site’s homepage features a time line showing the state’s significant storms. As visitors mouse over the storm names, an image and a box of quick facts appears for each storm. Clicking on a storm name takes visitors to that storm’s web page, where they will find stories and images about the human, economic and environmental impact of the storm.

Five sections have been uploaded to the site so far and cover the San Ciriaco Hurricane (1899), and Hurricanes Hazel (1954), Hugo (1089), Fran (1996) and Floyd (1999). Sections covering more storms are under development and will be uploaded soon.

By educating people about past storms, the RENCI at ECU staff hope to better prepare them for future coastal storms.