Today, June 1, the 2011 hurricane season gets underway officially for the Atlantic Basin (North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico) and it will end officially on November 30.
The greatest hazards caused by tropical cyclones are:
· Violent winds,
· very rough seas and a high surge along the coast and
· flooding rainfall of sometimes long duration
In 2010, tropical storm Tomás caused a lot of flooding on mainly Curaçao. A so-called feeder band of this system, which had developed during the evening of November 1 over the southeastern half of Curaçao, and in which heavy thunderstorms were present, caused locally more than 200 mm (8 inches) of rain during that evening and onto the next morning. In combination with the already fully filled-up dams, some locally serious flooding situations developed, which led to the loss of two human lives and also to water damage worth several millions of guilders.
Tomás also caused swells which caused locally high and rough surf on our south and west shores. The inconvenience caused by the sea was negligible compared to the water damage caused by the heavy rain in Curaçao. Aruba and Bonaire and also Bandabou in Curaçao received a lot less rain as a result of the passage of Tomás.
At the end of August last year, hurricane Earl also posed a serious threat to mainly St. Maarten. On August 27 the first bulletin was issued on this system by the Meteorological Service. In the days thereafter, respectively a Tropical Storm Watch, a Tropical Storm Warning and a Hurricane Warning would be issued for the SSS Islands. The center of this hurricane finally passed during the morning of August 30, north of St. Maarten at a distance of about 45 kilometers (28 miles). This system caused strong winds over all three SSS Islands, but the related damage was minimal. The rainfall associated with Earl was occasionally rather heavy but no significant flooding was reported.
The forecasts for 2011 indicate that this hurricane season will be an active one.
This season is expected to be about 75% busier than average. It’s of the greatest importance that everybody prepares in time for the hurricane season.
Everybody is advised to consult the information in the phone directory in which is mentioned what measures have to be taken, to be as well prepared as possible. In case the Meteorological Department Curaçao (MDC) issues a warning for the threat of a tropical storm or a hurricane, a good preparedness level will benefit everybody.
As is usually the case, the MDC will monitor the development of tropical disturbances over the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Area closely.
Watches or warnings will be issued, in case the islands are threatened by a tropical cyclone.
The names that have been reserved for this season’s tropical storms and hurricanes are: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, José, Katia, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince and Whitney. These names are nearly the same as the ones used in the active 2005 hurricane season. One of the exceptions is for instance the name Katia, which will replace Katrina. This latter hurricane was responsible six years ago for the loss of a large amount of human lives in the United States and also for a lot of damage.