Hundreds Attend Hurricane Preparedness Conference in MA

With the start of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season less than a month away, hundreds of people attended a hurricane preparedness conference Wednesday in central Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports…

The director of the National Hurricane Center, Bill Read urged hundreds of public safety officials not to be in denial when they see a forecast that has a hurricane tracking to New England.

Read said since 1990 hurricane tracking errors, 48 hours from landfall, have been cut in half. But forecasting a storm’s intensity remains tricky…

“Not being able to capture a rapid intensification of a hurricane and people expecting a weaker one could lead to a problem with evacuation decision.”   

Read said despite the rarity of New England hurricanes, the region appears no better or worse prepared than elsewhere.  The head of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said tropical storm Irene demonstrated last year that hurricanes are not just a coastal problem. 

Paul Tuthill, WAMC News.