Tropical Cyclone Activity Picking Up
The Eastern Pacific basin is lit up right now with four active systems — one of which is Tropical Storm (soon to be Hurricane) Iona. As we enter August, we expect to see a dramatic increase in development in the Atlantic Basin, as well.
Several minor systems are also active in the Northwest Pacific basin, with a potential tropical storm impact on China later this week.
On a more personal note, I was reminded today that we are nearing the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and was 16 when Katrina hit. In the two decades since, I have studied and worked toward preventing another catastrophe like the one I survived.
With all that education and experience, I take no joy in saying we are woefully unprepared for another storm like Katrina.
And with our federal government in shambles, I fear that if Katrina had hit today, the death toll would be much higher.
I fear you are right about this. I was teaching school in Austin, Texas at the time, and we took in so many children from the Gulf Coast in the months that followed. They had all lost everything. Tragic. The cuts to FEMA will have devastating consequences as well.