Yesterday residents of the Gulf Coast and the East Coast of the United States all breathed a collective sigh of relief as they bid farewell to another Atlantic Hurricane Season.

Although it was an active season with 19 named storms, in the grand scheme of meteorological history it will not be one of the more memorable storm seasons. No category 5 storms raged ashore cutting wide swaths of destruction and producing dramatic images of leveled houses and fallen bridges. In fact, only four storms made landfall in North America this year, and only two of those were of hurricane caliber. Residents of the River Parishes, however — as well as those in the Northeast, some of whom are still struggling with the after-effects of Hurricane Sandy — will long remember 2012 as a landmark year regarding hurricane damage.

What is interesting about the destruction wrought by both Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy is that it came not from high winds — considered by many the “traditional” mode of hurricane loss — but from the seas in the form of storm surge. While once upon a time weathering a storm meant stocking up on canned goods and boarding up windows, for many it now entails getting to higher ground. There has undoubtedly been an increase in storm damage caused by flooding in the last decade, most vividly brought to light following Hurricane Katrina but replayed this year on a smaller scale in LaPlace and other parts of the River Parishes and likely caused by a combination of wetlands destruction and climate change.

For years we have heard about these threats, but these storms demonstrated just how destructive they could be.

So while the 2012 Atlantic Storm Season may not be remembered for the strength of its storms, hopefully its legacy will be one that leaves coastal residents more protected from future storms as government officials finally realize just how costly a lack of flood protection can be.