Memories have faded since Hurricane Ivan slammed Alabama in 2004, the last time the state suffered a direct hit from a hurricane. Most of the damage is gone, replaced by new structures or empty lots along the beach.
So with hurricane season beginning and forecasters warning of a busy time, officials are trying to remind residents of threats such as storm surge, pounding waves, and destructive winds that can extend hundreds of miles inland.
Gov. Robert Bentley recently joined forecasters to highlight the need for residents to get ready.
Ivan decimated tourist areas in Baldwin County in 2004, and Hurricane Katrina pummeled southern Mobile County as it dealt the state a glancing blow in 2005, inundating towns including Bayou La Batre.
“The biggest threat is not from the winds of a hurricane, but from the water,” said Jim Stefkovich, the head meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Birmingham. `”What happens depends on the size of the storm and the speed at which it moves. If a storm moves slowly and dumps inches of rain, even a tropical storm will cause a tremendous amount of damage.”
Ronnie Adair, emergency management director in Mobile County, said people may not be as focused on hurricanes as they were after back-to-back hits from Ivan and Katrina, but they’re still aware of the potential for bad weather.
“We always have something in the Gulf of Mexico every year it seems, even if it’s not a major event that hits us,” Adair said.
State and county officials now have tools such as Twitter, which didn’t exist the last time a hurricane made landfall on the Alabama coast, to send out warnings. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency has been sending a steady stream of tweets for days to help build public awareness.
Bentley said there’s no substitute for being aware of storm threats and learning how to prepare for them.
“They cannot predict where the storms will make landfall,” he said.
State planners and the weather service are trying to get across the idea that storms can cause big problems in Alabama even if they make landfall far away.
“A good example is Hurricane Isaac last year,” Stefkovich said. “It was a Category 1 that made landfall well to our west, but it produced a 6- to 8-foot storm surge in northern Mobile Bay and 14 inches of rain in Alabama. Flash floods are really a problem.”
Residents need to have a week’s worth of supplies on hand and be aware of evacuation routes.
“No one is going to come to your door and tell you it is time to leave,” Stefkovich said. “You have to decide that for yourself, but you should leave when the officials say you need to go.”
Federal forecasters said there’s a 70 percent chance that 2013 will be more active than an average year for hurricanes. Their prediction calls for 13 to 20 named Atlantic storms, seven to 11 of which could strengthen into hurricanes and three to six of which could become major hurricanes.
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, when the threat of storms generally diminishes as waters in the Gulf of Mexico get cooler.
Associated Press Writer Jay Reeves in Birmingham contributed to this report.
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Progressive Gains as Drivers Shop Around for Auto Insurance—Again 
Cargo Owners in Baltimore Disaster Face ‘General Average’ Loss Sharing, MSC Says 
How California’s Huge Raises for Fast-Food Workers Will Ripple Across Industries 
California Chiropractor Sentenced to 54 Years for $150M Workers’ Comp Scheme 
