(CNN) —
Hurricane Michael isn’t a truly “natural disaster.”
Neither was Harvey in Houston.
Nor Maria in Puerto Rico.
Yet we continue to use that term.
Doing so – especially in the era of climate change – is misleading if not dangerous, according to several disaster experts and climate scientists I reached by phone and on Twitter.
“The phrase ‘natural disaster’ is an attempt to lay blame where blame really doesn’t rest,” said Kerry A. Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at MIT and a global expert on hurricanes.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Evan Vucci/AP
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Florida Gov. Rick Scott tour a Lynn Haven, Florida, neighborhood that was affected by Hurricane Michael.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Lisa Patrick is overcome with emotion as she visits the remains of her home in Mexico Beach, Florida, on Monday, October 15.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
The President and first lady hand out bottles of water to people in Lynn Haven on October 15.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
The Trumps tour damage in Lynn Haven.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
President Trump flies over the devastation in Mexico Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Mexico Beach residents make their way across a washed-out road on Friday, October 12.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Bronte Wittpenn/The Tampa Bay Times/AP
An aerial view shows the devastation in Mexico Beach on October 12. The small beach resort saw the brunt of Michael, authorities say.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Hector Retamal/Getty Images
Dough Shelby looks out at the destruction from his house in Mexico Beach on October 12.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Bronte Wittpenn/The Tampa Bay Times/AP
Little remains of a burned home destroyed by the hurricane in Mexico Beach on October 12.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Jabin Botsford/Washington Post/Getty Images
Benny Hobson sits in his recliner on Thursday, October 11, after losing the front wall of his house in Panama City, Florida.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Storm-damaged boats are piled up in Panama City on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Elizabeth Hanson, right, and her daughter Emaly hug their neighbor Cindy Clark on October 11. The hurricane heavily damaged their homes in Mexico Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Jabin Botsford/Washington Post/Getty Images
Collector cars are covered in debris in Panama City on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Tom Bailey walks his bike past a home that was carried across a road and slammed up against a condo complex in Mexico Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
Joyce Fox stands in front of her heavily damaged home in Panama City on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
A boat sits amid debris in Mexico Beach on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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David Goldman/AP
Kylie Strampe holds her 4-month-old daughter, Lola, while surveying the damage in Callaway, Florida, on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Trees snapped by Michael's winds are seen in Mexico Beach on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Amanda Logsdon faces a heavy cleanup task at her Panama City house on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
Rescue personnel search Mexico Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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David Goldman/AP
A man walks through a damaged store in Springfield, Florida.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Chris O'Meara/AP
An aerial photo shows a destroyed boat in Mexico Beach on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Dianne Gallagher/CNN
A tree sits on top of a Panama City mobile home. Almost all the residents of the mobile-home park rode out the storm. All homes were damaged except one.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Kathy Coy stands among what is left of her home in Panama City. She said she was in the home when it was blown apart and is thankful to be alive.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Getty Images
The view from a Panama City hotel room that lost a wall in the storm.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
Firefighter Austin Schlarb performs a door-to-door search in Mexico Beach on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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JONATHAN BACHMAN/REUTERS
Damaged buildings are seen in Panama City on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Debris is scattered in Mexico Beach early on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Zachary T. Sampson/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Wire/Newscom
Wreckage is piled up in Mexico Beach, near where Michael made landfall.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Zachary T. Sampson/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Wire/Newscom
Debris burns in Mexico Beach on October 11.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Pedro Portal/AP
Haley Nelson inspects damage at her family properties in the Panama City area on Wednesday, October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Zachary T. Sampson/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Wire/Newscom
Cars are tossed among the debris in Mexico Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
Kaylee O'Brian cries inside her Panama City home after several trees fell on it on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Floodwaters overwhelm vehicles in Panama City on Wednesday, October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
A storm chaser climbs into his vehicle to retrieve equipment after a hotel canopy collapsed in Panama City Beach on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Eric Thayer/The New York Times/Redux
A helicopter circles a Panama City neighborhood in the storm's wake on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
A woman and her children wait near a destroyed gas station in Panama City on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Jonathan Bachman/Reuters
A McDonald's sign is mangled in Panama City on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Eric Thayer/The New York Times/Redux
Boats are left damaged in a Panama City marina on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images
People comfort each other outside an apartment building in Panama City.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Dan Anderson/EPA/Rex/Shutterstock
People make their way through a building's wreckage in Panama City on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The powerful hurricane left houses battered in Panama City Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Phlomena Telker stands on the remains of her covered porch in Panama City.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/TNS/Newscom
Boats are damaged at the Port St. Joe Marina in the Florida Panhandle.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Lenora Adams evacuates a motel with her dog as the hurricane comes ashore in Panacea, Florida, on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rick Tesk, left, helps a business owner rescue his dogs from a damaged business in Panama City.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Dan Anderson/EPA
Wrecked boats sit near a pier in Panama City.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Chris O'Meara/AP
A resident of St. Marks, Florida, pulls a cooler out of the floodwaters near his home.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Douglas R. Clifford/Cal Sport Media/Zuma Press
Pine trees litter a yard in Port St. Joe.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Dirk Shadd/Cal Sport Media/Zuma Press
Streets begin to flood as high tide approaches in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Mike Lindsey stands in his Panama City antique shop after it was damaged by Hurricane Michael on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Trees lie on top of a home in Panama City.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images
Bo Lynn's Market is flooded in St. Marks on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Carlo Allegri/Reuters
A truck drives along a road in Alligator Point, Florida, that had been washed out by the storm on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Waves hit a house in Alligator Point on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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NASA/Shutterstock
The eye of the storm, as seen from the International Space Station on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
A woman checks on her vehicle after a hotel canopy collapsed in Panama City Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images
Mitchell Pope tries to salvage what he can from his mobile home in St. Marks.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gregg Pachkowski/PNJ.com/USA Today
This boat ran aground at Florida's Quietwater Beach.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Brendan Farrington/AP
Jayden Morgan, 11, evacuates his home as water starts to flood his neighborhood in St. Marks.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP
A person takes pictures of the surf and fishing pier on Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Gerald Herbert/AP
Emily Hindle lies on the floor at an evacuation shelter set up at a Panama City Beach high school on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Kathy Eaton takes what she can from her Panama City Beach home as she tries to get out of the way of the storm on October 10.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Jonathan Bachman/Reuters
Justin Davis, left, and Brock Mclean board up a business in Destin, Florida, on Tuesday, October 9.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
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Chris O'Meara/AP
Krystal Day, left, leads a sandbag assembly line at the Old Port Cove restaurant in Ozello, Florida, on October 9.
Photos: In pictures: Hurricane Michael's trail of destruction
PHOTO:
Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images
Workers scramble to store boats at Shields Marina in St. Marks.