Expect the usual from this year’s hurricane season. And be ready for the worst. That’s the summary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annnouncement Monday that the 2001 Pacific hurricane season is expected to generate a near-average three or
Expect the usual from this year’s hurricane season. And be ready for the worst.
That’s the summary of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annnouncement Monday that the 2001 Pacific hurricane season is expected to generate a near-average three or four storms.
But forecasters noted that it only takes one major storm to wreak havoc in Hawai’i, ala Hurricanes Iniki in 1992, which left behind $2.4 billion in damage, or Iwa in 1982.
“We can’t be sure if a hurricane will strike Hawai’i this year, but in order to survive, we all must be prepared,” said Jim Weyman, director of the NOAA/National Weather Service Central Pacific Hurricane Center.
This week is Hurricane Awareness Week nationwide. On Kaua’i, the observance ties in with an information fair this Saturday at Kukui Grove Center, focusing on hurricane, flood and tsunami preparedness. The event is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The hurricane season in the central Pacific officially began last Tuesday and ends Nov. 30. The annual average of cyclones (hurricanes, tropical storms or tropical depressions) is 4.5. The number has ranged from 11 in 1992 and 1994 to zero in 1960, 1964, 1969, 1977 and 1979.
Web sites with information on hurricane awareness include NOAA’s www.nhc.noaa.gov and the hurricane center’s www.nws.noaa.gov/pr/hnl/cphc/ pages/cphc.shtml.
The next hurricane in the central Pacific will be named Alika, officials said.
The center and civil defense agencies will collaborate in a mock hurricane response exercise June 1-8. The program will include the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, hospitals and the military.
Being ready for hurricanes is important for private citizens and the government, Weyman said.
