Disaster Recovery News

The term, “El Niño”, refers to the unpredictable phenomenon that occurs over the Pacific Ocean that causes a warming trend. This trend makes thunderstorms stronger and increases rainfall over Asia, Australia, and North and South America. When it is an El Niño year, the US typically sees fewer hurricanes make landfall.

Scientists are now seeing new trends in El Niño that could now not only cause more hurricanes to form more often, but also cause more hurricanes to touch land. This weather pattern is now being called El Niño Modoki. Modoki is a Japanese word that means, “similar, but different”.

Science Daily reports that  Modoki is more predict able. The advantage of this is that forecasters at the National Hurricane Center will be able to tell what the hurricane season will bring with more than one month of anticipation.

More on these new findings.

With hurricane season here, there are steps one can take to help prepare for the flooding that comes with these tropical storms. Click here to learn how to plan, prepare, act, and recover.

Texas and Louisianna are watching Hurricane Ike closely as it just misses the Florida Keys and continues to build strength in the Gulf of Mexico. Ike is expected to reach the U.S. this weekend somewhere along the Texas-Louisiana border.

The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry has already declared disasters in 88 Texas counties to help in the hurricane preparations needed as Ike looms. 7,500 National Guard men and women are currently on standby as well. Ike’s pathway is still not entirely clear but FEMA and the National Hurricane Center are keeping a close watch on it so that they can properly give evacuation orders in the next 48 hours.

In Louisiana, residents are being told to prepare hurricane emergency kits – water, food, batteries, etc. – even as thousands of residents remain without power after Gustav. Even if Ike does not directly land in Louisiana, winds and rains are still expected to pummel the area.

Check out the latest press release from FEMA, Get Serious, Be Prepared: Federal Preparedness for Ike for more on what the federal government is doing to prepare residents for hurrican damage.