Hurricane season begins today

In a release yesterday, ODPM said citizens should remember that TT is within the hurricane belt and the islands have been affected in the past by storms.

The ODPM said the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting 13 to 16 storms for the 2006 season, with eight to ten becoming hurricanes and four to six of these becoming “major hurricanes of category three strength or higher.

In a separate release, the Met Services recalled that TT has been affected by storms in 1933 and 1963 and there were fatalities on both occasions. The Met Services also said TT experienced near misses with Hurricanes Ivan and Emily in 2004 and 2005 respectively.