Whether we know who he is or not, Banksy is still out there making guerilla street art. And his latest paintings have shown up in New Orleans, on the eve the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall--and as Tropical Storm Gustav is taking aim at the gulf shore.
All of a sudden, another tropical storm is bearing down on the Caribbean. This time it's Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall in Haiti today and is already threatening Cuba and the rest of the Northern Caribbean.
Airlines are watching this one not just because of the potential damage it could wreak upon schedules but because of the carnage the storm is already creating in the global oil markets. With petroleum platforms in the Gulf of Mexico potentially in harm's way, airline stocks took a tumble today.
A guy in Fort Lauderdale had to find that out the hard way after he was snatched up by a wind gust, slammed to the ground, dragged over a busy highway and thrown into a wall. He's in critical condition at a local hospital, though he did manage to survive the ordeal. Uh... congrats?
Tropical Storm Fay may be dealing out sub-hurricane-force winds, but she's pounding the hell out of Key West all the same. And forecasters say there's a good possibility that the storm will be even stronger by the time it hits Naples and the rest of Southwest Florida sometime soon.
Airports in the Keys are currently closed, and multiple airlines are waiving ticket change fees for passengers headed to the region. Meanwhile the National Hurricane Center suggests that:
Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.
Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean are in the midst of hurricane season, with a series of storms knocking down power lines, battering buildings, and ruining vacations. Here, Victor Ozols thinks back to a long-ago hurricane experience, and the boredom it entailed.
Tropical Storm Fay is on its way to Florida right now after roaring across Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where it left four dead and caused untold damage. Forecasters warn that the storm could soon strengthen to hurricane status, triggering a severe weather alert across the Florida Keys.
News of the storm reminds me of my own Caribbean hurricane experience, way back in September 1979. My family had flown to St. Maarten for a few days on the beach, but our timing couldn't have been worse. Hurricane Frederic was on the way, and we were in for several days of virtual house arrest as sheets of rain lashed against our cottage at a resort called Mullet Bay.
Hurricane Dolly is currently approaching Brownsville, Texas after making landfall north of Cancun over the weekend. The Yucatán Peninsula peninsula had heavy storm-related rains but sustained very little damage; Dolly retreated into the Gulf but picked up speed from there.
The fourth named storm of the 2008 season (after tropical storms Arthur and Cristobal and Hurricane Bertha) is expected to hit category two strength as it moves west into northern Mexico, possibly stopping for a "Wall*E" matinee.
The latest long-range forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says we should expect 12-16 tropical storms and 6-9 hurricanes before the end of the season on November 30.
Though it was threatening Bermuda, it now looks like the first Atlantic hurricane of 2008, Bertha, will spin off into the open ocean without major incident. That's certainly good news for now, but some meteorologists think the formation and track of this storm are bad omens for the season as a whole.
Destinations that depend on visitors year-round are already offering up storm guarantees to keep the tourists coming despite the threat. Topping the list? You guessed it: Bermuda.
While parts of the Caribbean reels in hurricane-wrought destruction, tropical resorts' PR teams are plastering on a smile and saying, "Come on down folks, everything's fine." Following Hurricanes Dean and Felix, they're jumping back in the tourism game. And travelers who follow suit are discovering loads of incentives to book now.
Just weeks after weathering Hurricane Dean's category 4 wrath, hotels in Jamaica are offering all kinds of deals from buy-one-get-one packages to slashed prices. To stave off lingering fears, many companies guarantee refunds in the event of another emergency.
Still, some places suffered enough damage to require significant reconstruction. According to The New York Times:
Some areas are still recovering from the storm. Costa Maya, the up-and-coming cruise port on the Yucatán Peninsula near the border of Belize, took a beating and is expected to be closed for at least six months. Some of the thatched-roof cabanas along the Maya Riviera were heavily damaged.
And that's just the fallout from Dean. Hurricane Felix took a separate toll on Central America.
0 Comments - Add Yours
by pbb
