How has Iberia Parish fared since then and what might be in store for the remainder of this year’s hurricane season?
As Hurricane Gustav approached South Louisiana, its winds measured 110 mph, classifying the storm as a strong Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Measurement equipment failed prior to recording peak wind speed and low pressure, with final measurements of 54 mph sustained winds and 76 mph gusts prior to the storm’s passage through Iberia Parish, according to the National Weather Service.
 9/02/08 Hopkins and Robertson Streets in New Iberia are shown closed down last year after traffic lights were lowered following Hurricane Gustav. Lee Ball / The Daily Iberian Advertisement
|
Statewide $2.3 billion in insured property damage was reported, with an additional $2 billion in uninsured damaged property estimated by the Insurance Service Office, a private risk assessment corporation. A year later, specific total damages to the parish have yet to be calculated and probably will not be ready any time soon, said James Anderson, director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness.
“We’re still waiting on the final figures,” Anderson said. “FEMA is still working on the final figure and project worksheets are still being processed by the Disaster Recovery Group in Baton Rouge.”
Anderson said Iberia Parish is better prepared since last year’s hurricanes thanks to lessons learned. Action reviews, assessments and recommendations were put in place after hurricanes Gustav and Ike in preparation for this and future storm seasons.
One of the problems that emergency officials encountered was the perennial challenge of increased and consistent communication in order to send and receive information prior to catastrophes. Anderson said people notified his office that when attempting to reach them, they were some times unable to get through.
“There weren’t enough telephone lines,” Anderson said. “We’ve added more and increased the number of call-takers taking calls.”
There also have been more computers added to the communication system, so there are more ways to get information to the public and also so the office can access information.
One element of the parish emergency plan that has not been changed is the parish re-entry plan, despite some past public criticism about the length of time it took before parish residents were allowed to return.
“You want to get back to see what damage was done and start working on it,” Anderson said.
“I understand that. But until you get that infrastructure back together, you can’t let people come back. We understand people will be upset about that, but we’ve got to be able to support them with places to shop, buy gas, have electricity, sewage.”
Donovan Landreneau, the Marine and Hurricane Program leader with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, said this season’s calm weather pattern has been the result of several factors, primarily water temperature and atmosphere.
“We have an El Niño present that has been in play since late spring, early June,” Landreneau said. “That typically puts the damper on hurricane seasons. Not all the time, but as a general rule of thumb.”
El Niño is a climate phenomenon of slightly warmer temperatures in the Central or Eastern Pacific that expands like a bell-shaped curve, he said. While it is commonly assumed warmer waters fuel hurricanes, particularly in relation to the Gulf of Mexico, Landreneau said scientists are uncertain what forces are at work in hurricane formation.
“Whether the drive is atmosphere or ocean, that’s still not clear,” he said. “Water is maybe one-quarter of the formula, but you have to have the right atmosphere above it. Once you have that there’s more potential to fuel the storms.”
The Colorado State University 2009 Forecast of Atlantic Hurricane Activity estimates between three and five major storms this year, but so far only Hurricane Bill has threatened the U.S. before curving along the East Coast.
Landreneau said there may be several reasons for the milder season. In addition to El Niño, there has been a consistent upper level trough, pressure in the upper atmosphere, along the East Coast, a weather feature that rebuffs approaching weather systems.
Tropical shear in the Atlantic Ocean, a condition in which different wind speeds move in different directions, may also have contributed to fewer storms.
“Tropical storms don’t like shear,” Landraneau said.
While this season the number of hurricanes is running below average for this time of year, and while there may be a host of reasons why Louisiana has not seen greater activity, residents should not become complacent.
“The peak month is still September,” Landreneau said. “So we’re probably due to have at least a half dozen more form.”
Comments