Shiver me timbers, blow me down
My friends and associates are meeting this week at the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans. I could not attend due to budget and preparedness issues at home, but I am envious. Not that I care for New Orleans; I don't - I care about its restaurants, some of the finest in the land. However, the conference is not about good food or laisser le bon temps roulez, but about hurricanes.
Advanced forecasting suggests the upcoming Atlantic cyclonic storm season that begins June 1 may generate as many as 15 or more named storms. Folks around here are already skittish after the pummeling they endured during 2004, so the forecast is not welcome news. I have already seen record numbers of participants at hurricane presentations and have been bombarded with questions. Now you would think that in a state where four storms wreaked havoc last year, chances would be lessened for a repeat this year. However, we have already seen the unthinkable: that one location can be ground zero twice in one season (my Little Martin County), so why not expect as many deadly storms making landfall in back-to-back years?
We are vulnerable here, more so than in previous years, because some of the damage caused last year is still with us. Consider that in Florida: more than one in five homes were damaged, and over 12,000 families are still homeless. Tens of thousands of homes still have their roofs covered with tarps, awaiting repair by overburdened roofing companies. Several of the state's special needs shelters were damaged beyond salvage, thus limiting a safe haven for those requiring electricity for medical needs or special medical care.
Somehow, some way, we'll make it through to November 1. We can't stop hurricanes from striking our communities, but we can improve on preparedness and how we recover from them. That's our focus and that's what we'll do.