The National Hurricane Center said that the Atlantic hurricane season’s first tropical system is expected to hit land in the US by the week’s end, potentially carrying heavy rain and flooding from the coast of Texas to the Florida Panhandle.
It will be named Claudette if it develops further into a tropical storm and becomes the third storm in the Atlantic hurricane season this 2021, which started this June and will conclude by the end of November.
The first named storm this Atlantic season was Ana, which strengthened last month after it collected force close to Bermuda. Ana made it to the seventh consecutive year when a named weather disturbance was recorded prior to the start of the Atlantic season.
The country’s disaster response is already strained following the record-breaking drought that hit the West and triggers worries of serious wildfires and power outages. Added to this, there were also residents in the Gulf Coast who are still trying to get back up from the series of storms last year.
Devastating storms occur more often due to climate change and the hurricane season is also experienced in longer periods.
In May, President Joe Biden visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s main office and announced that the agency received a boost in funds to aid states and cities in times of weather disturbances. From $500 million last year, the fund was increased to $1 billion this year.
“We all know that the storms are coming, and we’re going to be prepared,” Biden said. “We have to be ready. It’s not about red states and blue states. It’s about having people’s backs in the toughest moments that they face, ready with food, water, blankets, shelters and more.”
