Gulf Coast Suffers Record Hurricane Season

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Gulf Coast Suffers Record Hurricane Season

Sunday October 23, 2005 2:46 AM

By DEBORAH HASTINGS

AP National Writer

Not in the last century, since it was decided that the dead and detritus of every hurricane should be recorded, has there been such a disastrous barrage of wind and rain and saltwater on the Gulf Coast.

Twenty-two tropical storms and hurricanes in the past five months, the most ever in a single season. A tropical storm that formed Saturday in the Caribbean was dubbed Alpha because the last letter left in the tempest alphabet went to Hurricane Wilma.

The World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations agency responsible for christening these uncontrollable offspring of nature, had never before run out of names. (There is no X, Y or Z, no U or Q - not enough proper nouns begin with those letters, the agency says.) Nom de storms now revert to the Greek alphabet for the rest of the season, which ends Nov. 30.

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The end of August brought Hurricane Katrina, whose damage statistics are still being tallied. The National Hurricane Center says Katrina may be the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. It will take a very long time to decide that.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5363190,00.html