The start of hurricane season this week has emergency officials urging Mississippians to plan for the possibility of tropical weather.
MPB’s Evelina Burnett reports, it’s been several years since a major storm affected the state, and that has some worried.
Mississippi Emergency Management Agency director Lee Smithson began his annual press conference on hurricane season with a series of numbers – 5 years since Hurricane Isaac - 9 years since Gustav - 12 since Katrina.
“I think my greatest concern going into this season is really the span of time since we’ve been impacted by a major event," Smithson says. He hopes this won't lead to complacency and urges residents to come up with an emergency plan. He argues strongly that plan should be to leave. “You cannot anticipate everything that Mother Nature might do."
The National Weather Service is launching a new “storm surge” warning and watch system this year. Meteorologist Ken Graham is with the National Weather Service in Slidell.
“The No. 1 killer by far in a tropical system is storm surge," Graham says. "We’ve never had a warning for that."
A storm surge watch means the potential for life-threatening inundation within 48 hours. A warning means the surge could come within 36 hours.
