Hurricane Season 2006 Begins

It's that time of year again.

From VOA News:

Well-known U.S. storm forecaster William Gray has predicted an active Atlantic hurricane season. Gray and his team at Colorado State University say 17 tropical storms can be expected this season, with nine of them becoming hurricanes. He added that five of the storms will be major hurricanes.

Last week, officials at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted there will be up to 16 named storms. They said they expect 10 of them to become hurricanes, and that six of them could become major hurricanes.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30.

NOAA and Gray say the world is in a 20-year cycle that will continue to bring strong storms.
The 2005 storm season was the most destructive in recorded history, with seven major hurricanes, including Katrina, which killed some 1,300 people along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

In case you have forgotten Katrina—which I admit is unlikely—these never before released photos taken by a North Carolina church relief team should jog your memory. They were taken between September17-22, 2005 between Gretna, Louisiana (just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans), and Waveland, Mississippi.

A heavily damaged Mardi Gras float in a destroyed Louisiana warehouse.

A mobile home lot, trailer long gone, and a twisted rail bed. Mississippi.

Destroyed gas station, only the pumps are upright. Mississippi.

A home destroyed. Storm surge took away much of the first floor. Trees appear to have collapsed on the rest. Mississippi.

A tangle of vehicles including cars, motorcycles and tractors from garage crushed by the storm surge. Mississippi.

The remains of an unknown commercial building. Destroyed by storm surge. Mississippi.

If these photos are sobering, then they've served their purpose. As someone who has been through hurricanes in the past, I created a Hurricane Survival Guide last summer to try to help people prepare. It is still there, still (I hope) relevant, and you are more than welcome to use it as a rough guide for the busy season ahead.

Of course, the best hurricane survival tip is this: when it comes, be far, far away. Everything you own, no matter how much personal value it has, is just stuff.

You can't replace you.