Hurricane forum here Tuesday

With hurricane season and the 10-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita approaching, a forum Tuesday in Morgan City will provide residents with what they need to know to prepare for the 2015 season.
U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, the Port of Morgan City, National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will present a 2015 Hurricane Season Preparedness public meeting at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
The topic of the presentation will explore the impacts, lessons learned, and improving preparedness today from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
“It has been almost ten years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated our coastline and cost thousands of Louisianans their lives,” Boustany said in a news release. “The lessons learned in the aftermath of these storms can save lives and prevent massive property damage.”
Boustany encourages people to attend the forum in order “to learn how we can safeguard our families and homes against catastrophic hurricanes this year,” he said.
Colorado State researchers Philip J. Klotzbach and William M. Gray anticipate the 2015 Atlantic basin hurricane season “will be one of the least active seasons since the middle of the 20th century,” according to an April report.
An El Niño of at least moderate strength will likely develop this summer and fall, the report stated. The tropical and subtropical Atlantic were “quite cool,” as of the April 9 report.
El Niño is a disruption in the ocean-atmosphere system in the Tropical Pacific, which has important consequences relating to weather and climate across the world, according to noaa.gov.
Researchers anticipate a below average probability for major hurricanes making landfall along the U.S. coastline and in the Caribbean, the report stated.
Despite the forecast for below-average hurricane activity, researchers reminded coastal residents “that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them,” according to the report.
“Residents should prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted,” the report said.
Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30, according to the National Hurricane Center.