Hurricane Heels

Testimony of David Walker, Comptroller Gen. of the U.S., before the Comm. on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate. The size & strength of Hurricane Katrina resulted in one of the largest natural disasters in our nation's history. Hurricane Katrina raised major questions about our nation's readiness & ability to respond to catastrophic disasters. Hurricane Rita increased demands on an already stressed response & recovery effort by all levels of government. The two hurricanes provided a sobering picture of the overwhelming strains on response & recovery if there are back-to-back catastrophic disasters in the same area. Includes recommendations.

North Carolina's Hurricane History charts the more than fifty great storms that have battered the Tar Heel State from the colonial era through Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, two of the costliest hurricanes on record. Drawing on news reports, National Weather Service records, and eyewitness descriptions, hurricane historian Jay Barnes emphasizes the importance of learning from this extraordinary history as North Carolina prepares for the inevitable disastrous storms to come. Featuring more than 200 photographs, maps, and illustrations, this book offers amazing stories of destruction and survival. While some are humorous and some tragic, all offer a unique perspective on the state's unending vulnerability to these storms.

With modern weather forecasting, we can monitor, track, and predict the path of hurricanes like never before. But all you have to do is look at pictures of the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina or research the massive cleanup costs of Hurricane Sandy to realize that these storms can still have devastating consequences. Wayne Neely, a meteorologist at the Department of Meteorology in Nassau, Bahamas, and a leading authority on hurricanes, reveals the science behind hurricanes as he examines some of the most terrifying and devastating storms of the Caribbean and the Americas. Spanning more than five centuries and drawing on extensive archival research from Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, Neely emphasizes the continuing role of race, societal inequality, and economic ideology in the shaping of our responses to hurricanes. With the prospect of hurricanes becoming fiercer and more destructive, he offers a much-needed opportunity to understand and study these freaks of nature. Whether youre a historian, amateur meteorologist, student, or someone who wants to be prepared in case of a massive storm, youll be impressed with the forces of nature revealed in The Greatest and Deadliest Hurricanes of the Caribbean and the Americas.

If you live in the Caribbean or Florida, you’ve probably heard tales about the Great Okeechobee Hurricane, which killed thousands and left behind wide swaths of destruction. Also known as the Saint Felipe (Phillip) Segundo Hurricane, it developed in the far eastern Atlantic before making its way over land and taking the lives of Bahamian migrant workers and Florida residents. This thoroughly researched history considers the storm and its aftermath, exploring an important historical weather event that has been neglected. Through historical photographs of actual damage and personal recollections, author and veteran meteorologist Wayne Neely examines the widespread devastation that the hurricane caused. You’ll get a detailed account on: • workers who were caught unprepared on the farms in the Okeechobee region of Florida; • challenges that those involved in the recovery effort faced after the hurricane passed; • personal and community turmoil that took decades to fully overcome. This massive storm killed at least 2,500 people in the United States of which approximately 1,400 were Bahamians migrant workers, becoming the second deadliest hurricane in the history of the United States, behind only the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. To this day, it remains the deadliest hurricane to ever strike the Bahamas.

The riveting exploits of a fighter aircraft – and an underrated aerial hero of the Second World War The Hawker Hurricane was flying on the outbreak of war in 1939. Six years later, having saved Britain, it was still playing a major part in the war effort. Widely remembered in its fighter role and unjustly left in the shade of the Spitfire, the Hurricane’s role was varied and pivotal: as a fighter, fighter-bomber, anti-tank aircraft and used at sea. Nor was its theatre of operations any less wide: it saw action in France from the beginning of the Phoney War to the outbreak of the Blitzkrieg, in the Battle of Britain, and then as far afield as Russia, Sumatra and Madagascar. In this intensely readable, spirited and classic account, Adrian Stewart describes all the Hurricane’s roles, adventures and achievements. He recounts the exploits of the aircraft’s outstanding pilots who contributed so much towards mastery of the skies and eventual victory. Perfect for readers of John Nichol’s Spitfire and Lancaster.

According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the city of New Orleans is twice as likely to be struck by a hurricane as any other metropolitan area bordering the Gulf of Mexico. In this work, authors David F. Bastian and Nicholas J. Meis explore the historical records of storms that have affected the region in and around south Louisiana since the first colonizers set foot on the Mississippi delta in the late seventeenth century. Using letters, personal diaries, official records, newspaper articles, and expert analyses, Bastian and Meis delve into the effects of the monstrous storms that have irreparably impacted south Louisiana, including what went awry during Katrina in 2005. Also examined is the evolution of New Orleans's protection systems as well as what the city can do to avoid another catastrophe.

In the summer of 1940 the fate of Europe hung in the balance. Victory in the forthcoming air battle would mean national survival; defeat would establish German tyranny. The Luftwaffe greatly outnumbered the RAF, but during the Battle of Britain it was the RAF that emerged triumphant, thanks to two key fighter planes, the Spitfire and the Hurricane. The Hurricane made up over half of Fighter Command's front-line strength, and its revolutionary design transformed the RAF's capabilities. Leo McKinstry tells the story of the remarkable plane from its designers to the first-hand testimonies of those brave pilots who flew it; he takes in the full military and political background but always keeps the human stories to the fore - to restore the Hawker Hurricane to its rightful place in history.