Storm Planners Reflect On Busy Hurricane Season

The 2008 hurricane season officially came to an end this week, and despite some major storms, storm planners say this year’s season managed to avoid some of the disastrous evacuations that cost lives in 2005.

The Associated Press is reporting that storm planners have reflected on the season that saw Hurricane Gustav hit New Orleans and Hurricane Ike strike Texas. Both used different strategies – New Orleans evacuated and Houston “hunkered down” – but both strategies worked.

Retired Lt. Col. Jerry Sneed, New Orleans’ emergency preparedness director, told AP residents deserve much of the credit for a successful Gustav evacuation.

“The number-one reason we succeeded for Gustav is that our citizens listened to us,” he said. After the catastrophic failures in evacuating people before and after Katrina, Louisiana emergency planners developed a model system using public transportation. It paid off for Gustav, the first time it was used.

In Texas, by the time Hurricane Ike’s path was apparent mandatory evacuations were ordered for coastal counties and a few Houston ZIP codes along waterways sure to flood. Everyone else was ordered to stay put.

“‘Hunker down’ definitely got the message across,” Francisco Sanchez, a spokesman for the Harris County emergency management office, told AP. Still, in part because of the direct hit on Galveston and Houston, Ike was blamed for at least 72 deaths, including 37 in Texas, and caused $8.1 billion in insured losses, eclipsing the $5.6 billion in damage attributed to Rita.

“The 2008 hurricane season was one of the most active on record, with 16 named storms, including eight hurricanes, forming in the Atlantic. Five of the eight hurricanes were at least Category 3 strength,” AP says.