Hurricane season travel: What you need to know
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Hurricane Maria was the strongest when it made landfall in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Nearly six months later, more than 65% of residents there are still without power.
Carrie Cochran, USA TODAY Network
Last year was one of the most active Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, with six major hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.
Three devastating major hurricanes made landfall—Harvey in Texas, Irma in the Caribbean and the southeastern USA, and Maria in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico.
Some affected areas are still recovering even as the start of the 2018 hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico approaches. Almost eight months after Hurricane Maria pummeled Puerto Rico, tens of thousands of residents are still without electricity. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.
Researchers at Colorado State University researchers are predicting a slightly above-average Atlantic hurricane season for this year: 14 named storms, including seven hurricanes. Three of those are expected to reach major hurricane strength with winds of 111 miles per hour or greater. An average hurricane season will result in 12 storms, six of them hurricanes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says.
“If you think back last few years, I can’t think of a year when we didn’t have a significant storm,” says Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com, a comparison site for travel insurance plans. “It seems that it’s becoming more of an annual risk.”
The National Weather Service and the NOAA are holding their annual National Hurricane Preparedness Week from now until May 12.
What are the basics you should know about hurricanes?
The chances of facing a severe hurricane while on vacation are slim, but still be aware of the risks that these storms pose. The NOAA says the main ones are:
Storm surge, the abnormal rise of water caused by a storm’s winds, is the leading cause of hurricane-related deaths in the USA. A storm can travel several miles inland.
Flooding from heavy rains is the second leading cause of deaths from tropical storms. Flooding can travel hundreds of miles inland and last for several days after a storm.
The high winds can create other hazards such as destroying buildings and sending debris flying at dangerous speeds.
Tornadoes can also accompany a storm that makes landfall.
Dangerous waves caused by winds can cause deadly rip currents, beach erosion, and damage to structures along the coast. That can occur even if the storm has not made landfall.
When and where are hurricanes most likely to hit?
The season may go from June to November, but there’s a season within that season.
Activity peaks from mid-August through mid-October because of various factors such as warmer water and air temperatures and increased moisture, according to the NOAA.
The maximum amount of activity is early to mid-September.
According to NOAA data, the U.S. locations with the highest chances of being struck by a tropical storm or hurricane are: Miami (48 percent chance), Cape Hatteras, N.C. (48 percent), San Juan, Puerto Rico (42 percent), and New Orleans (40 percent). The U.S. coastline tends to get hit later in the season when the water is warmer.
The Caribbean Hurricane Network looked at the number of hurricanes experienced between 1851 to 2010. Abaco, an island in the Bahamas, had 18 hurricanes from Categories 3 to 5 in that time, the most of any Caribbean island. Grand Bahama, also in the Bahamas had 15 and Saba, an island in the Lesser Antilles chain that is a municipality of the Netherlands, also had 15 high-category hurricanes.
But Grand Bahama and Abaco in the Bahamas had the most number of hurricanes of any category level, with 40 hitting them in the nearly 60-year period. Bimini in the Bahamas had 38 total hurricans. Saba and Nevis had 36.
A few islands are at low risk for getting storms, usually because they are south of the hurricane belt.
The so-called ABC Islands—Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao—are far outside of the hurricane belt and have not experienced a hurricane in years. Other islands that often get spared: Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago, and Grenada.
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You’re scheduled to travel to a destination in the path of a storm. What should you do?
It there is a storm warning in effect, the first thing to do is to check with your airline to find out about flight cancellations and with your hotel to see if they are evacuating guests.
Most airlines and hotels will update their websites about conditions.
You should also consider getting travel insurance even if airlines and hotels have become more flexible about waiving change or cancellations fees if there is a storm warning in effect.
Depending on the travel insurance plan you get, you may be able to get a refund of all pre-paid non-refundable travel expenses.
If you have trip interruption coverage, you may also get reimbursed for expenses you incur trying to get home or to another destination, according to Allianz Travel Insurance.
The Travel Delay benefit could get you reimbursement for additional out-of-pocket meals, transportation and lodging expenses incurred as a result.
Other plans provide emergency travel assistance such as medical services and emergency medication transportation. The benefits could also include help with missed connections, lost baggage, lost travel documents, prescription replacement, and emergency cash, the company says.
Airlines will often offer travel insurance when booking a flight, but Sandberg says those are usually with just one provider.
“It may not be a best balance of cost-effectiveness and benefits,” he says. “You don’t have the ability to understand, ‘Is this the best policy I’m going to get for my particular trip? You may be able to come up with a generally more cost-effective plan.”
Best to shop around different companies, he says.
Also, keep in mind that you cannot buy travel insurance one the hurricane has been named because the company will consider the natural disaster to already have happened.
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You find out after you arrive at your vacation spot that a storm is on its way. How do you respond?
Most hotels in areas within a hurricane belt are used to the risk. They have trained their staff to take care of guests who may get stranded there during a storm. They also keep emergency supplies.
But Robert Quigley, senior vice president and regional medical director for the Americas at International SOS, a global security and travel company, says it would be wise to get some of your own supplies in case the hotel runs out.
Make sure you have batteries, chargers and 48 hours’ worth of food. Keep plenty of cash. And if you have rented a car, fill it up with gas.
And, “as silly as it sounds, make sure you keep a list of emergency numbers,” Quigley says.
While cell phone service may not work well during a natural disaster, it’s still important to have devices ready in case they do become the best mode of communication, says Nicki Palmer, chief network engineer and head of wireless networks at Verizon.
“Charge your devices before a storm hits, including smartphones, laptops, tablets, DVD players, flashlights and radios,” she says. “To preserve battery life, dim the background light on your screen and turn off background data applications or Wi-Fi search services.”
Other phone advice: program It to receive emergency alerts, download weather applications and alerts, subscribe to alerts from aid and relief organizations such as the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and back it all up.
And remember, if the power goes out, your free flashlight app will work. If voice calls don’t get through, use the texting function instead as it will normally work.
Some companies like International SOS focuses specifically on getting their clients out of harm’s way.
Quigley says the company sends teams down to areas where clients get stranded because of a storm or other natural disaster.
“You need to get out before the hurricane hits,” he says. “If you can, we will assist you.”
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11/7/17 9:41:56 AM — Arecibo, Puerto Rico — A chair sits caked in dried mud in the Asemblae de Dios church in Arecibo. The waterline from flooding during Hurricane Maria can be seen on the wall in the background.
Pastor Humberto Bert Pizarro, who leads an Assembly of God ministry in San Juan, Puerto Rico, noticed a federal response effort to Hurricane Maria that was lacking in urgency and effectiveness. Backed by U.S. churches, Pizarro, originally from Brooklyn, launched a disaster relief network that in many ways has outpaced the federal response. So far, his network has helped people and churches in 72 of the islands 78 municipalities. — Photo by Jasper Colt, USA TODAY staff ORG XMIT: JC 136747 Jasper in Puerto 11/2/2017 (Via OlyDrop)
11/7/17 10:16:57 AM — Arecibo, Puerto Rico — Pastor Bert directs volunteers from the U.S. and Puerto Rico as they clean mud deposited by heavy flooding during Hurricane Maria from the Asemblea de Dios church in Arecibo.
Pastor Humberto Bert Pizarro, who leads an Assembly of God ministry in San Juan, Puerto Rico, noticed a federal response effort to Hurricane Maria that was lacking in urgency and effectiveness. Backed by U.S. churches, Pizarro, originally from Brooklyn, launched a disaster relief network that in many ways has outpaced the federal response. So far, his network has helped people and churches in 72 of the islands 78 municipalities. — Photo by Jasper Colt, USA TODAY staff ORG XMIT: JC 136747 Jasper in Puerto 11/2/2017 (Via OlyDrop)
11/7/17 11:08:54 AM — Arecibo, Puerto Rico — Charlie Reyes, a church volunteer from New York, sweeps trash out of the home of José Rodriguez and Ada Martinez, which was severely damaged by flooding and winds during Hurricane Maria.
Pastor Humberto Bert Pizarro, who leads an Assembly of God ministry in San Juan, Puerto Rico, noticed a federal response effort to Hurricane Maria that was lacking in urgency and effectiveness. Backed by U.S. churches, Pizarro, originally from Brooklyn, launched a disaster relief network that in many ways has outpaced the federal response. So far, his network has helped people and churches in 72 of the islands 78 municipalities. — Photo by Jasper Colt, USA TODAY staff ORG XMIT: JC 136747 Jasper in Puerto 11/2/2017 (Via OlyDrop)
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