Hurricane Preparedness Center

Galveston, Texas Still Struggling to Recover from Hurricane Ike

"Five months after Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston, Texas, the island city on the Gulf of Mexico below Houston is struggling to recover. The economic slump in the nation as a whole has made the task more difficult, but many islanders are determined to rebuild their homes and their lives there.

The party is in full swing at night in downtown Galveston as the city celebrates Mardi Gras, a smaller version of the big party held every year in New Orleans, 640 kilometers to the east. The event culminates on Tuesday, with parades and street parties. Both cities rely on these tourist-drawing celebrations for their economic vitality and both are ever more dependent on them as they recover from hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans in August, 2005 and Hurricane Ike caused widespread wind, surge and flood damage to Galveston on September 13 of last year"

Read Greg Flakus's entire article at VOANews

What is the Eye of a Hurricane? How is it Formed and Maintained?

The "eye" is a roughly circular area of comparatively light winds and fair weather found at the center of a severe hurricane. Although the winds are calm at the axis of rotation, strong winds may extend well into the eye. There is little or no precipitation and sometimes blue sky or stars can be seen. The eye is the region of lowest surface pressure and warmest temperatures.  The eye temperature may be 18° warmer or more at an altitude of 8 miles than the surrounding environment, but only 0-3°F warmer at the surface in the hurricane. Eyes range in size from 8 miles to over 120 miles across, but most are approximately 20-40 miles in diameter.

The eye is surrounded by the eye wall, the roughly circular ring of deep convection which is the area of highest surface winds in the hurricane. The eye is composed of air that is slowly sinking and the eye wall has a net upward flow as a result of many updrafts and downdrafts. The eye's warm temperatures are due to compressional warming of the subsiding air. Most soundings taken within the eye show a low-level layer which is relatively moist, with an inversion above, suggesting that the sinking in the eye typically does not reach the ocean surface.

The exact mechanism by which the eye forms remains somewhat controversial. One idea suggests that the eye forms as a result of the downward directed pressure gradient associated with the weakening and radial spreading of the tangential wind field with height. Another hypothesis suggests that the eye is formed when latent heat release in the eye wall occurs, forcing subsidence in the storm's center. It is possible that these hypotheses are not inconsistent with one another. In either case, as the air subsides, it is compressed and warms relative to air at the same level outside the eye and thereby becomes locally buoyant. This upward buoyancy approximately balances the downward directed pressure gradient so that the actual subsidence is produced by a small residual force.

$3.9B Katrina and Rita Aid is Still Unspent

Nearly 3 and half years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita demolished the Gulf Coast, new reports show that nearly 2/3 of the FEMA promised $5.8B earmark to rebuild libraries, roads, schools and sewer systems is still unspent.

Read the entire report from USA Today's Brad Heath.

What is the Saffir-Simpson Scale for Measuring Hurricanes?

The Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale is a 1-5 rating based on the hurricane's present intensity. This is used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast from a hurricane landfall. Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale, as storm surge values are highly dependent on the slope of the continental shelf and the shape of the coastline, in the landfall region.

• Category 1 Hurricane: Winds from 74 to 95 mph.  No significant damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage.
• Category 2 Hurricane: Winds from 96 to 110 mph. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2 to 4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings.
• Category 3 Hurricane: Winds from 111 to 130 mph.  Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtain wall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required.
• Category 4 Hurricane: Winds from 131 to 155 mph. More extensive curtain wall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles.
• Category 5 Hurricane: Winds greater than 155 mph.  Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3 to 5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5 to 10 miles of the shoreline may be required

Welcome to the Hurricane Preparedness Center, brought to you by Bounce Energy!

In preparation for the upcoming Hurricane season of 2009, Bounce Energy, a Texas Electricity Company,  would like to welcome you to HurricanePrepCenter.com. The site's goal is provide valuable tips and information to not only customers of Bounce Energy, but anyone who lives within the path of Atlantic and Gulf Coast based storms.

This site will provide:

• News and updates on current hurricanes
• Tips on being prepared
• Information on past hurricanes and the history of the largest ones in history
• Classification and measurement methods of hurricanes
• and frequently asked questions to help guide you through a potential hurricane disaster