As residents along the shore near the Carolinas brace for what forecasters say may be the worst hurricane to ever strike the east coast, curious eyes are also focused on the Gulf of Mexico with two named storms churning across the Atlantic near the 14th anniversary of Hurricane Ivan which slammed into the gulf coast on Sept. 16, 2004.
More than a million people have been evacuated from North and South Carolina as Hurricane Florence roars toward the coast as a large Category 4 hurricane and could intensify before making landfall.
In the southeast, the focus is on Isaac and Helene and a possible third tropical depression in the Atlantic.
Escambia County Emergency Management Director David Adams said it's too early to tell whether any of the storms will impact the area, but said people need to keep an eye on the Gulf of Mexico.
“We're at the height of the hurricane season,” Adams said. “It was this time of year when Ivan hit.”
Adams said a lot was learned from Ivan and later with Hurricane Dennis, which hit the gulf coast on July 10, 2005.
Adams was working as superintendent of public works for the town of Flomaton when Ivan and Dennis hit. He became EMA director in April, 2006.
“I think we were all caught a little off guard with Ivan,” Adams said. “We'd never seen anything like that.”
He said its been 13 years since Hurricane Dennis and there's a generation that hasn't seen the impact such a storm can bring. He said the biggest improvements since Ivan slammed the gulf coast is preparedness.
“Our knowledge and planning have taken leaps and bounds,” Adams said of 2004 to 2018.
He said money was made available for mitigation and public utilities and businesses have made upgrades as well.
“We now have generators for all critical infrastructure, so now all public water wells have alternative generator power,” he said.
He said that most of the sewer lift stations are also now equipped with generators so water and sewer shouldn't be a major issue should a major storm knock out power for an extended period of time.
“If we can keep potable water and sewer going, we'll be OK,” he said.
He also said a lot of stores have installed generators since Ivan, which will enable people to purchase gasoline and groceries.
“Almost nobody had generators when Ivan hit,” Adams said. “Stores were closed and you couldn't buy gasoline for weeks.”
He said even though many improvements have been made, residents still need to be prepared to sustain themselves for 78 hours without electricity.
Adams said early this week that Isac was on a due west track across the Caribbean, which is usually a path that causes problems in this area but added it's expected to hit some unfavorable weather and weaken severely. He also said early indications are that Helene will take a northern track into the Atlantic and not cause any problems.
He also said there was a tropical wave in front of Isaac in the Caribbean that could develop into a tropical storm.
He said although knowledge and preparation has increased, the one thing that hasn't changed is the unpredictability of a hurricane.
“People don't need to panic, but they do need to keep an eye on the tropics for the next several weeks,” he said.
