'Very active' hurricane season predicted

NF Reporter · 04-03-2007, 10:46 AM

AP - The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season should be "very active," with nine hurricanes and a good chance that at least one major hurricane will hit the U.S. coast, a top researcher said Tuesday.

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waltky · 06-10-2008, 12:47 AM

Maybe a better method of hurricane prediction?...

Listening for a devastating hurricane
Mon., June. 9, 2008 - Listening for a hurricane's destructive potential; Hydrophones could be used to provide early warning, researcher believes

Quote:

Picking out the right bass notes deep within the ocean may help predict devastating hurricanes, according to a research project demonstrating the power of acoustics.

Nicholas Makris, an associate professor of mechanical and ocean engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is convinced his method can get a handle on the severity of hurricanes before their landfall without resorting to the expensive process of sending airplanes directly into the eye of the storm.

His solution: placing underwater microphones, or hydrophones, deep beneath the ocean swells and measuring wind velocity as a function of sound intensity. The volume of the low-frequency rushing sound produced by wind, waves and roiling water, his research suggests, is directly proportional to the storm’s strength and can provide an early warning on its destructive potential.

Hunting for hurricanes

waltky · 09-12-2008, 04:04 AM

Red Cross tapped out...

Hurricanes Drain Red Cross Relief Fund
Thursday, September 11, 2008 - The wave of storms battering the U.S. has plunged the American Red Cross deep into debt as it rushes to prepare for Hurricane Ike, prompting a searching look at how to stabilize its finances.

Quote:

Gail McGovern, who became the embattled charity's president in June, said even a request for federal funding is under consideration as the Red Cross seeks to become less dependent on spontaneous donations that arrive only in the wake of huge disasters. "We are going to explore every avenue we can to ensure we have a healthy Red Cross," McGovern said in an interview Thursday as her organization deployed 1,000 out-of-state volunteers to Texas to await menacing Ike.

"We're brainstorming absolutely anything," she said. "We're looking at the possibility of appropriations, whatever - because we want to be able to serve the American public." As of last week, when Ike was still a distant threat, the Red Cross said it has raised only $5 million to cover costs from Hurricane Gustav that will total at least $40 million, possibly more than $70 million. It has borrowed money to meet those bills, and now is incurring more expenses as it shifts response teams to Texas and readies its shelters.

"The beautiful thing about the American Red Cross is we are going to be there when people need us," McGovern said. "As the disaster relief fund depletes, we will borrow money if we need to, to be there." McGovern said Red Cross officials were calling Gustav a "silent disaster" because it entailed sizable costs for sheltering displaced people, yet did not trigger the flood of donations that often follows more deadly and destructive storms.

With Ike, McGovern said, the Red Cross wants to be ready even though it has no idea how damaging or costly the storm will be. It launched a new fundraising appeal Monday, and will get a plug this weekend when the NFL encourages donations with on-air and in-stadium announcements during its games.

More CNSNews.com - Hurricanes Drain Red Cross Relief Fund