As the U.S. Coast Guard continues to search for missing people after a commercial ship capsized in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday due to a storm, Louisiana residents are preparing for upcoming storms in a hurricane season that is expected to be more active than usual.
“It’s going to be a tough summer,” Adrienne Webber, 57, a native of southern Louisiana, told CBS News. “Make sure you’re ready.”
According to a study released Thursday by the Weather Company, 18 different storms, including eight hurricanes and three major hurricanes, are expected to hit the Atlantic basin during this hurricane season, which officially runs between June 1 and June November 30th. This projection, while shy of last year’s record of 30 named storms, is above the 30-year average.
With more than a month to go before the official start of hurricane season, severe weather is already affecting the area. On Tuesday afternoon, a 129-foot merchant ship capsized eight miles south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, where there was high seas and winds of up to 90 miles per hour. At that time there were nineteen people on board. Four died and nine remain missing.
“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the family, friends and loved ones of everyone involved in this tragic incident,” Captain Will Watson, commander of the New Orleans Coast Guard industry, said in a press release. . “We are using all available resources to continue our search efforts.”
Since the fall, rain and severe weather have made it difficult for the Coast Guard to search, families have only become angry, according to CBS News’ Jessi Mitchell.
Divers have had to stop their search several times due to dangerous weather conditions. Visibility has been so low at the time that divers could only see “up to the hand in front of them,” even with lights, Mitchell said.
“Beloved members of the crew don’t take the news well on weather delays,” Mitchell added.
Webber, who has suffered other severe hurricanes in Louisiana like Katrina, said she is preparing for the active hurricane season by making sure she has supplies ready for her and her family.
“We have to be prepared for anything that might happen,” he said. “You have to make sure you have it all.”