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One final set of statistics, relating to hurricanes, involves the phenomenon of "storm surge." Storm surge refers to a rapid rise of sea level that occurs as a hurricane approaches a coastline. In 1990, 6,000 deaths plagued Galveston, Texas. Hurricane Audrey, in 1957, developed a storm surge which killed 390 in Louisiana. Thousands of coastal, urban trees were devastated. And in 1928 the flood waters of Lake Okeechobee, driven by hurricane winds, caused 1,836 human deaths (Pielke 1990). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . More than 80% of the population of the United States lives in cities and communities, and this percentage continues to increase. Recently, because of the heightened public interest in the environment, people began placing a greater emphasis on having a healthy urban forest. Current interest in urban forestry is capitalizing on the public awareness of the value of trees to ameliorate our otherwise rather bleak urban landscapes. People understand the need for long-term care of urban forests. Because of the often severe impact of natural disasters on the urban forest, people are supportive of management activities which help ensure that natural disaster damage is minimized. They also accept the concept that it is necessary to replace trees destroyed by natural disasters. To compound the problems associated with natural disaster damage, two new components further challenge urban forest management: 1) increasing property values (enhanced by the value of trees), and 2) ever sprawling urban areas, which make regreening more extensive in the aftermath of violent weather. A number of organizations, public and private, are concerned with vegetation damage mitigation. The USDA Forest Service, state natural resource agencies, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and State Emergency Management Agency (sEMA), often work together with other agencies and organizations during natural disasters. State Foresters can provide necessary mitigation information during and following a storm using information and services of various newspaper and television media. Non- profit institutions such as the National Arbor Day Foundation (NADF), American Forests (AF), and the International Society of Arboriculture (IsA) now sponsor a variety of educational programs which relate directly to urban forest disaster mitigation. NADF edits and distributes a series ofTree City USA Bulletins with relevant topics such as "When a Storm Strikes," "How to Hire an Arborist," and "How to Select and Plant a Tree." AF publishes the bimonthly magazine "Urban Forests." Relevant subjects in issues included "Global ReLeaf," "Hurricane Hugo ReLeaf," and "Planting New Life in The City." IsA publishes the "Journal of Arboriculture," "Arborists News," and "lsA Today." Relevant articles in these include; "England Before and After the Hurricane of 1987," "Hurricane Hugo Damage," "Photo Guide to Hazard Tree Recognition," and "Wounds on Trees." 116