# 2027
Everyone remembers' their first time.
Mine was in 1960, and her name was Donna.
There would be others as I grew older; unforgettable nights like the one I spent in a cheap motel with Betsy in 1965, and an all-nighter with a coquettish Agnes in 1972 just after graduation. And I'll never forget those three wild and crazy days I spent aboard my boat with Elena in 1985.
In 1968, the `summer of love', I hooked up briefly with Abby, Brenda, and Gladys. All three were tepid affairs, minor dalliances at best, although for a while I thought Gladys had possibilities.
In the end, they all fizzled out.
There were others along the way. Many were little more than minor flirtations. Brief encounters in the night, over almost before they'd begun. Their names grow hazy with the passing years, although I can still remember some of the electric anticipation I felt at the time.
The queen of them all, however, was Camille. Beautiful, powerful, unforgettable Camille. An unparalleled force of nature.
A wonder to behold.
I suppose I was lucky that Camille passed me by, not even giving this poor mortal a glance. I was just one of her many admirer's from afar. Part of me though, yearned to have met her up close and personal.
The hubris of youth, I suppose.
And yet, despite missing out on that experience, she taught me just how powerful such an encounter can be . . . if the conditions are just right.
Duration
August 14 – August 22 1969
Intensity
190 mph (300 km/h), 905 mbar
What? With the Atlantic Hurricane Season just three days away, you thought I was talking about something else?
Shame on you.
Donna, Betsy, Agnes, Gladys . . .they were all hurricanes I experienced growing up in Florida.
This year, the forecast is for an above average hurricane season, with as many as 15 named storms, 8 Hurricanes, 4 of which could be major. If the forecast holds true, 2008 could be long remembered on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
Tropical Cyclone Forecast for 2008
(1950-2000 Averages in parenthesis)
- Named Storms 15 (9.6)*
- Named Storm Days 80 (49.1)
- Hurricanes 8 (5.9)
- Hurricane Days 40 (24.5)
- Intense Hurricanes 4 (2.3)
- Intense Hurricane Days 9 (5.0)
- Net Tropical Cyclone Activity 160 (100%)
We've seen two below-average hurricane seasons in a row, and many have let their guard down. But hurricanes, like pandemics, are a fact of life. They come around on a regular basis, and we must be prepared for them.
Sadly, most are not.
This from a Mason-Dixon Poll conducted last year surveying 1,100 adults living in Atlantic and gulf states:
- *53 percent said they don't feel vulnerable to hurricanes or related tornadoes.
- *52 percent have no family plan, and 61 percent have no hurricane survival kit.
- *88 percent have taken no steps to make their homes stronger
- *One in four said they would not start to prepare until hurricanes were 24 to 36 hours away. One in five said they'd wait until 24 hours.
- *11 percent say they're responsible for a disabled or elderly person, but one third of those said they had no plan for that person.
- *16 percent said they might not or would not leave even if ordered to do so.
- Thirty percent said that, if they left, they'd travel not to friends or relatives nearby but as far as they could go. Emergency managers fear a scenario in which cars stuck in gridlock are wiped out by a storm.
- *43 percent said they wouldn't wait for an all clear before heading home.
- *One in five believed it was the government's responsibility to provide supplies in the first few days, or weren't sure who was responsible. Emergency managers have said families need to have everything they'll need for three to five days on their own.
- *78 percent said they did not know storm surge is the greatest killer in a storm.
- *More than half believed tornados can occur only within three miles of a storm. Actually, a hurricane can spawn tornadoes hundreds of miles away.
- *96 percent did not know garage doors are the part of a home most likely to fail. Nearly half still believe masking tape will keep windows from shattering.
- *21 percent said they weren't sure their homeowner's insurance policy included replacement coverage. More than four in 10 had not reviewed their insurance policies with an agent in the past year, some in more than five years.
- A fourth did not know standard policies don't cover flooding and homes need a separate federal flood insurance policy.
As a native Floridian, one who has ridden out many storms, I can only shake my head in wonder. It's not like we don't have major information campaigns every year. Hurricane preparedness is shouted from the highest rooftops by officials, and we even have a tax-holiday here in Florida for hurricane prep items.
But few, apparently are listening. Or if they are listening, they simply don't believe it can happen here, or to them.
Of course it can, and eventually will, to millions of people.
Although the really big storms (which today are co-ed) don't usually show up until late summer, June 1st marks the beginning of the 2008 Hurricane season.
If you are prepared for a pandemic, you are already prepared for a hurricane . . .or an earthquake . . . or a flood.
If you aren't, then it's time to get cracking.
Epilogue
If you've never experienced the full fury of a hurricane, it may be difficult to understand how anyone can view them as I do; as breathtaking forces of nature.
Yes, they are destructive, capable of unleashing untold misery . . . but they are also amazingly efficient (and often beautiful when viewed from afar) heat engines, serving as a conveyor belt of essential moisture and heat from the tropics to the higher latitudes.
Many parts of our world would be far less hospitable places if it were not for tropical storms and hurricanes.
They are part of nature, and something we must learn to live with. . . and yes, even appreciate.
