Experts Predict '06 'Cane season to be worse than '05

[Clio]

Link: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2006/02/10/65247.htm

There is no reason to expect any change in hurricane patterns in the near future, the number of hurricanes have been increasing since 1995 and will continue to do so for the next decade or two, according to Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Mayfield admitted he was the bearer of "bad news" as he cautioned more than 1,000 insurance adjusters, mediators and attorneys attending the Feb. 8 to 11 Seventh Annual Windstorm Insurance Conference in Orlando to prepare for what very likely will be a 2006 repeat performance of 2004 and 2005. Mayfield even suggested that due to the El Nino effect, there could be more hurricanes in 2006 than there were in 2005.

"Homeowners in areas where previous hurricanes have damaged their property need to complete minor repairs before the next hurricane season," Mayfield explained. "What seem like small items, a loose shingle for instance, will be weaknesses if another hurricane comes through, and could result in major damage if not repaired now."

Everyone in coastal areas, and even homeowners living away from the coast need to prepare now for the 2006 hurricane season, Mayfield told the overflow crowd attending the conference. The event was so popular this year that a second conference room, to which the presentations were broadcast on closed-circuit television, had to be set up to accommodate attendees who could not fit into the main area.