Hurricane Season Ends, Drought Continues
The Texas Gulf Coast was spared during the 2011 hurricane season. According to experts, the combination of dry air, wind shear and warm water led to unusually weak tropical systems. Of the 19 storms that formed, only seven became hurricanes.
Only two major storms struck the United States in 2011, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. Irene caused 56 deaths and more than $10 billion in damage; Lee’s heavy rains killed 13 people and left about $1 billion in damage.
“A couple of storms threatened the Texas coast but dissipated quickly,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, director of the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. “So basically we’ve been monitoring drought-driven fires instead of hurricanes.”
According to the Texas Forest Service, since November 2010 nearly 29,540 fires have burned 3,978,201 acres throughout the state.
“Our Emergency Operations Center was at its busiest during the fires that erupted in September over the Labor Day weekend,” added Emmett. “We’ve extended the burn ban several times throughout the year and will continue to work closely with the Harris County Fire Marshal to monitor the persistent drought conditions.”
Although hurricane season officially ends on November 30th, the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM) will continue its outreach efforts. So far this year, HCOHSEM has offered close to 250 disaster preparedness presentations to help residents prepare for, respond to and recover from disaster.
Judge Emmett noted that the complete lack of hurricane activity presents a difficult sort of problem.
“As we get closer to the 2012 hurricane season, we don’t want residents to become complacent. Our area is still a target for devastating storms,” Emmett said.
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