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Would New England be prepared for a "bad" hurricane?
NARRAGANSET—"New England has not had a “bad” hurricane since the “Great New England Hurricane of 1938”, said Dr. Isaac Ginis.
Ginis of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School spreads his knowledge of hurricanes and reminds people of ways they can be prepared.
The “Great New England Hurricane” made landfall the afternoon of Sept. 21 with no warning. Weather forecasters expected the hurricane to move out to sea. That night the hurricane sped up and traveled from Cape Hatteras to Long Island in less than eight hours.
The storm hit the New England area as a Category 3 hurricane. It is estimated that the hurricane killed 682 people, damaged or destroyed over 57,000 homes and caused property losses estimated at 306 million dollars.
Ginis doesn’t think Rhode Island would be prepared for another major hurricane but he does think there are ways people can be prepared. “To improve preparedness we need to do a better job in explaining the major hazards, wind and water, associated with hurricanes. Both can be tremendously destructive and deadly. I think if people better understand these hazards and know what to expect they will likely be better prepared,“ says Ginis.
Ginis and the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence office developed the Hurricanes: Science and Society website. This website is used as a classroom tool to learn and teach about hurricane science. It is projected toward students K-12, educators, the general public, and the media.
The main goal of the Science and Society website is to explain to children and young adults the science about hurricanes so they can make good decisions before and during a hurricane emergency.
“Many adults are too busy to learn or do anything new. I think we have a better chance to get the family prepared by educating children about hurricanes,” says Ginis.
If a hurricane came to Rhode Island like the one in 1938 it is estimated that the state would spend 45-55 million dollars due to it. There are ways to lower that amount if people in the area are informed about how to be prepared for a hurricane.
According to the Ready.gov website to prepare for a hurricane the first thing a person should do is make an emergency kit, second a person should learn if they are in a flood zone, third cover all of your windows with wood or permanent storm shutters. These are just some of the things to be done, for more information go to http://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.
