# 831
Tomorrow is the official begining of the Altantic Hurricane season. And for 35 million Americans, or roughlly 12% of the population, that means for the next six months we must keep a wary eye on the tropics.
Of course, if you've prepared for a pandemic, you are already well prepared for a hurricane.
Eight-Five percent of coastal residents have never experienced a major hurricane. They are, after all, fairly infrequent, and impact a relatively small area of the coastline when they strike. Some people, who have ridden through the fringes of a hurricane, or a direct hit from a category 1 or 2 storm, think they've been through a major hurricane.
But they are wrong.
Even Katrina, as catastrophic as it was to the city of New Orleans, was only a weak Category 3 storm when it made landfall. The Category 5 storms, which are fortuantely rare, are far, far worse.
It has been mostly a matter of luck that a category 5 storm hasn't struck, dead center, on a populated region of our coastline. As more and more of the coast is built up, the odds go up that it will happen, with devastating results.
The National Hurricane Center is forecasting nearly a 75% chance that a major hurricane will cross our coastline in the next 6 months. Somewhere . . . between Brownsville, Texas and New England. And of course, as we saw in 2004-and 2005, we could see more than one.
As a second generation Floridian, I've lived with hurricanes all of my life. Hurricane season is accepted as part of life here. Many of us prepare each year, but many do not. At the last minute, hundreds of thousands of people will likely flock to grocery and hardware frantically scooping up last minute supplies. Plywood, generators, and gasoline will become premium items.
It will be, just as it is before every landfalling storm, a bit of a madhouse.
The same apathy towards preparing in advance for a hurricane can be seen in the lack of preparation for a pandemic. People are content to wait till the last minute, confident they will be able to get what they need. Many will be tragically mistaken.
We don't know that a major hurricane will strike this year, although the odds are pretty good. We don't know if a pandemic will strike this year or next, and frankly, we don't have a handle on those odds. There are some who believe them to be fairly high.
But given the likely fallout from either disaster, it just makes sense to be prepared in advance. Buying a windup radio and sticking it in your closet isn't as much fun as going out for a pizza and beer, but someday that could be a lifeline for you and your family. Having a pantry full of food, particularly if it is stuff you normally wouldn't eat, seems like a waste. But if you ask the people of New Orleans, they'd tell you it beats cold army rations.
Disasters happen. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, even pandemics. They come, usually with little warning.
And when they strike, we need to be ready.
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