Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 1, 1990 TAG: 9006010312
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CORAL GABLES, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
But Robert Sheets said the aftermath from hurricanes Gilbert in 1988 and Hugo last year taught officials what improvements are needed to better evacuate and protect the estimated 45 million coastal residents from Maine to Texas.
"If the long-term trends are any indication of what's to come, we are in for more frequent and stronger hurricanes," said Sheets, standing in front of satellite views of Gilbert and Hugo and photographs of ravaged coastal areas in the United States and Caribbean.
Sheets said the predictions of increased hurricane activity are based on studies of past decades, atmospheric low-pressure waves and increased rainfall trends in West Africa, near the breeding waters for most hurricanes.
Hurricane activity began to drop after drought conditions began in the early 1960s in Africa's Sahel region, he said.
Between 1940 and 1969, the United States was hit by 22 hurricanes above a category 3, with minimum winds of 110 mph. From 1970 to 1989, there were only eight such storms, including the record $10 billion in damage caused by Hugo in South Carolina and the Caribbean, said Sheets.
"I hope we don't catch up this year with the decade of the '40s," said Sheets.
The official Atlantic hurricane season begins today and runs until Nov. 30. Last week, a tropical depression in the Caribbean did not intensify into a hurricane, but brought heavy rains to Cuba and south Florida.
Hugo left 28 people dead in the eastern Caribbean and caused 29 deaths in South Carolina.
In 1988, Gilbert killed more than 300 people and caused heavy damage from the Lesser Antilles to Mexico.
Meanwhile, coastal populations continue to swell, with many communities ill-prepared to handle a hurricane emergency, said Sheets.
by CNB