In storm history, ‘I’ stands for infamous
Isabel. Ivan. Ike. Irene. And now Irma. These terrible hurricanes, all of which have occurred since 2003, begin with a common vowel. They haven’t all started with the same letter by chance — there is some science behind the abundance of notorious storms starting with the letter “I”.
Since 1953, storms have been given human names to make identifying them more convenient. For 26 years they were given only female names, but in 1979 the male-female alternating alphabetical lists that we use today were introduced.
Names associated with storms that cause severe loss of life or property damage are retired by the World Meteorological Organization. The idea of permanently retiring a storm names began after the 1954 hurricane season when Carol, Edna and Hazel ravaged the East Coast.
Since that fateful year, a total of 84 storm names have been retired, and those beginning with “I” make up the majority of them.
This is not entirely surprising: “I”-name storms tend to coincide near the average peak of the hurricane season. With ocean temperatures warm and hostile winds shear, conditions are prime for hurricane development.
Over the past 50 years, the average “I” or ninth named storm forms on Sept. 30. But during active seasons, which produce some of the most extreme hurricanes, the average date creeps up by about two weeks, coinciding with the heart of the season, which spans June 1 to Nov. 30.
While we remember with horror storms like Isabel and Ivan, terrible “I” storms haven’t just afflicted the United States. Putting the 10 retired “I” storms on a map reveals that they had an impact on many countries.
Irma has already caused tremendous harm in the Caribbean, and a hurricane disaster in Florida seems unavoidable. It seems destined to become the next “I” storm whose name will never describe another hurricane.
MIAMI — On what was likely the last clear day in Florida before Hurricane Irma’s monster wind and rain, social workers and police officers were giving Miami’s estimated 1,100 homeless people a stark choice Friday: come willingly to a storm shelter, or be held against their will for a mental-health evaluation.
With the outer edge of the storm approaching, these officials — backed by a psychiatrist and observed by an Associated Press team — rolled through chillingly empty downtown streets as dawn broke over Biscayne Bay, searching for reluctant stragglers sleeping in waterfront parks.
“We’re going out and every single homeless person who is unwilling to come off the street, we are likely going to involuntarily Baker Act them,” said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust.
Invoking the Baker Act — a law that enables authorities to institutionalize patients who present a danger to themselves or others — is not something law enforcement does lightly, but officers detained at least six people by Friday afternoon. Under the law, they can be held up to 72 hours before the state would have to go to court to prolong their detention.
By then, Irma’s howling winds and terrifying storm surge should be somewhere north of the city.
“I am not going to sign suicide notes for people who are homeless in my community. I am just not going to do it,” Book said. “That’s why you have a Baker Act. It’s there to protect those who can’t otherwise protect themselves.”
Book’s group was working closely with police, who acknowledged that the effort is unusual: Officials said it is the first time Miami has invoked the law for hurricane preparedness.
About 70 people willingly climbed into white vans and police squad cars Friday, joining others who already arrived at shelters. About 600 others were thought to remain outside somewhere, exposed to the storm, despite mandatory evacuation orders for more than 660,000 people in areas that include downtown Miami and coastal areas throughout the county.
One older man pushing his belongings in an empty wheelchair in Bayfront Park tried to wave them off. After a back-and-forth exchange, the man was handcuffed without a struggle and taken to a hospital for a 72-hour psychiatric evaluation.
After driving more than 400 people to shelters, the Homeless Trust said it would continue searching for stragglers until winds reach 45 mph, likely sometime Saturday afternoon.
— Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust