 HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS CAN SAVE LIVES AND PROPERTY ON THE COAST!Living on the Texas coast has its many benefits, including enjoying the prisitine environment we love and respect so greatly. But the threat of tropical weather systems each summer season is a reminder that we need to constantly have our house in order. Being prepared for a major disaster is the first step in surviving a disaster. As a public service, the Port Isabel-South Padre PRESS has prepared a series of audio guides to help you understand the dangers of tropical weather and ways you can help prepare for what some call the inevitable. Explore the audio links below and get ready for the 2008 hurricane season. And stay up to date with the latest tropical storm information on this Web site.
INTRO: History teaches that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads among all major hurricane disasters. By knowing your vulnerability and what actions you should take, you can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster. LISTEN TO THE INTRO AUDIO
|
|
THE STORM SURGE: Storm surge is simply water that is pushed toward the shore by the force of the winds swirling around the storm. This advancing surge combines with the normal tides to create the hurricane storm tide, which can increase the mean water level 15 feet or more.
|
|
DEADLY WINDS: The intensity of a landfalling hurricane is expressed in terms of categories that relate wind speeds and potential damage. According to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, a Category 1 hurricane has lighter winds compared to storms in higher categories. A Category 4 hurricane would have winds between 131 and 155 mph and, on the average, would usually be expected to cause 100 times the damage of the Category 1 storm. Depending on circumstances, less intense storms may still be strong enough to produce damage, particularly in areas that have not prepared in advance.
|
|
FLOODING: When it comes to hurricanes, wind speeds do not tell the whole story. Hurricanes produce storm surges, tornadoes, and often the most deadly of all - inland flooding. While storm surge is always a potential threat, more people have died from inland flooding from 1970 up to 2000. Intense rainfall is not directly related to the wind speed of tropical cyclones. In fact, some of the greatest rainfall amounts occur from weaker storms that drift slowly or stall over an area. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO
|
|
TORNADOES: Hurricanes can also produce tornadoes that add to the storm's destructive power. Tornadoes are most likely to occur in the right-front quadrant of the hurricane. However, they are also often found elsewhere embedded in the rainbands, well away from the center of the hurricane.
Some hurricanes seem to produce no tornadoes, while others develop multiple ones. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO
|
|
DISASTER PLAN: You need one - every family does. And they are not that hard to make. LISTEN TO THE AUDIO
|
DIASTER/STORM PLAN
|
|
|
