As the U.S. Coast Guard continues to search for missing people after a commercial ship capsized in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday due to a thunderstorm, Louisiana residents are preparing for more upcoming storms in a hurricane season that is expected to be more will be active as usual.
“It’s going to be a rough summer,” Adrienne Webber, 57, who hails from southern Louisiana, told CBS News. “Make sure you’re prepared.”
According to a study published by the Weather Company on Thursday, 18 different storms – including eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes – are forecast to hit the Atlantic during this hurricane season, which officially lasts between June 1 and November 30. ashamed of last year’s record of 30 named storms, is above the average of 30 years.
With more than a month left until the official start of the hurricane season, the severe weather is demanding the area. Tuesday afternoon, a 129-foot commercial ship capsized eight miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, where there was an open sea and wind of up to 90 miles per hour. Nineteen people were on board at the time. Four are dead and nine remain missing.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the family, friends and loved ones of all who were involved in this tragic incident,” Captain Will Watson, commander of the New Orleans Coast Guard Sector, said in a press release. “We use every asset at our disposal to continue our search efforts.”
Since the fall, rain and heavy weather have hampered the Coast Guard’s search, and families have only become angry, reports Jessi Mitchell, CBS News
Divers had to interrupt their search several times due to dangerous weather conditions. The visibility at the time was so low that the divers could see only ‘as far as their hand in front of them’, even with lights on, Mitchell said.
“The loved ones of the crew members do not take the news of weather delays well,” Mitchell added.
Webber, who has been through other serious hurricanes in Louisiana like Katrina, said she is preparing for the active hurricane season by making sure she has supplies ready for her and her family.
“We have to be ready for anything that might happen,” she said. “You have to make sure you have everything.”