|
With 600
miles of coastline and more than 5.2 million residents living in
coastal counties, Texas is one of the most vulnerable states to
the destructive forces of a hurricane. Steps must be taken to
prepare and protect the state from a major catastrophe.
Texas is the
site of the most deadly natural disaster to strike the United
States. The 'Great Storm' struck Galveston on Sept. 8, 1900,
killing more than 6,000 people. While the Lone Star State has
not been hit by a comparable Category 4 hurricane in the past
century, the possibility is ever present.
'It has
occurred and will likely occur again,' said National Weather
Service meteorologist Gene Hafele. 'We just don’t know when.'
Forecasters
agree that increased hurricane activity is expected for the
foreseeable future.
'We’re still
in an active hurricane cycle, and those tend to last 20 to 25
years,' said Dennis Feltgen, meteorologist for the National
Hurricane Center.
The 2007
season is expected to include a total of seven hurricanes,
including three major storms, with at least one of them making
landfall in the United States. In reference to the 2007 season,
Accuweather.com Chief Meteorologist Joe Bastardi warns, 'We’ll
see storms on the prowl in the Gulf again.'
In September
2005, the state of Texas took in several hundred thousand
evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and suffered a direct hit from
Hurricane Rita less than a month later. The resulting crisis
prompted Gov. Rick Perry to appoint a task force to determine
what was learned from the storms.
Six months
later, Perry implemented task force recommendations on
evacuating residents with special needs, including the elderly,
the disabled, those without transportation and those with pets;
command, control and communications; traffic management; fuel
availability; and public awareness.
Some cities
in Texas have been recognized for their preparedness efforts.
Galveston, which is about 50 miles southeast of Houston and has
a population of 57,000, has received the 2006 Excellence in
Emergency Management Award for its joint efforts with the
University of Texas Medical Branch during the Hurricane Rita
evacuations.
Galveston is
also well prepared in terms of infrastructure. After the 1900
hurricane, protection from the sea was a priority in
rebuilding. A seawall that is now more than 10 miles long and
approximately 17 feet high was completed in 1962. The entire
grade of the city was also raised to 15 feet.
The seawall,
which today protects more than one-third of Galveston’s
oceanfront, was completed in 1962 and cost nearly $15 billion to
build.
When a major
storm hit Galveston in 1915, only eight people were killed
thanks to the protection of the seawall. Nevertheless, 590 miles
of coastline remain unprotected by a seawall, exposed and
vulnerable to the threat of catastrophe.
Read more
about Texas’ vulnerability to hurricanes:
http://www.therealgalveston.com/Seawall.html
http://www.governor.state.tx.us/priorities/health_safety/hurricane
|
