| Many vacationers look forward to traveling during | | | | fewyears. |
| thesummer months to the Caribbean, Florida and | | | | What to do if you are caught in a hurricane |
| vacationresorts along the Gulf of Mexico. | | | | Hurricanes do not come up suddenly, and there is |
| While the late spring and summer offer | | | | atleast a 3 day warning on a specific, direct hit. |
| tremendoustravel bargains, these months also | | | | Mostvacationers immediately leave their vacation spot |
| correspond with thestart of the hurricane season. | | | | whenthreatened with a hurricane, however some will |
| Recently there has beenan increase of travel in the | | | | chooseto ride it out, or fail to realize there will be |
| "off peak" months of Julyand August, when many | | | | noflights to get them out at the last minute if theyfinally |
| families have the opportunity toget away on vacation. | | | | decide to leave. |
| This year in particular, manypotential vacationers have | | | | When a hurricane approaches the first thing you |
| been unsure whether to plana vacation in the areas | | | | needto do is move far away from beach areas to |
| mentioned above. | | | | avoid thestorm surge. Hurricanes season is nothing |
| The people of the Caribbean sum up hurricane | | | | new to |
| seasonwith the following saying: June - Too Soon; July | | | | Caribbean islanders, and many have dealt with |
| - | | | | plentyof hurricanes before. The only advice that can |
| Stand By; August - Look Out You Must; September - | | | | begiven is to follow the directions of local officials,and |
| Remember; October - All Over. | | | | evacuate to the nearest storm shelter ordesignated |
| What you need to understand about the nature of | | | | facility. |
| thecurrent hurricane patterns | | | | The most damaging winds of the hurricane are |
| The experts agree the rise in the number of | | | | foundwithin a 50-100 mile radius of the storms eye. |
| hurricanesin the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico are | | | | Normally an island in the path of a hurricane |
| likely tocontinue. Most of the experts in this field | | | | willexperience a day or two of normal activity - |
| believeglobal warming is responsible for the fuel that | | | | dependingon the intensity of the storm. |
| turned | | | | Tropical storms in other regions of the world |
| Katrina from a slow moving tropical storm into one | | | | Tropical storms always occur in oceanic basins |
| ofthe most deadly hurricanes in U.S. history. The | | | | insidethe tropics. The only difference is we call |
| watertemperature in the Gulf was higher than normal, | | | | thesestorms by different names. |
| andwhether you believe in global warming or not, | | | | In the Atlantic/Caribbean, Pacific cost of Mexico wecall |
| thefacts are the Caribbean and Gulf regions will | | | | these storms hurricanes. In the north-west |
| bedealing with more active hurricanes for at least | | | | Pacific region around Taiwan, Japan and the |
| thenext 15 years. | | | | Philippines, these storms are called typhoons, |
| First of all, we usually think of hurricanes as | | | | andcyclones are the name given around Australia and |
| highlydestructive wind storms, but it is the water | | | | inthe Indian Ocean. No matter what you call these |
| thatkills people, animals and vegetation. It's the | | | | stormsaround the world, they are in essence the same |
| stormsurge that produces flooding, such as what | | | | thing. |
| happenedin New Orleans, and storm surges produced | | | | No one can be promised a "storm free" vacation |
| the deadlymudslides in the Caribbean island of Haiti | | | | duringhurricane season. |
| lastsummer. | | | | Here's a few important things we advise travelers to |
| Currently the Caribbean/Atlantic hurricane | | | | think about . . . |
| seasonstarts officially on June 1 and ends on | | | | (1) Travelers booking vacations on their own need |
| November 30. | | | | tobe better informed about hurricane season, and |
| Hurricanes are uncommon in June, early July and | | | | theparticular locations safety policies and procedures. |
| November, and the peak months are August, | | | | Working with a travel professional can definitely bean |
| Septemberand October. But changes in the world's | | | | advantage if you need to change travel plans, or |
| climateindicate that hurricane season could be | | | | beadvised of safety information prior to your trip. Ifyou |
| extended toinclude May and December. In the coming | | | | decide to book at one of the online travel sites,you |
| years, Julyand November could be seen as peak | | | | cannot expect to get much assistance in |
| months. The goodnews is that tropical storms that | | | | anemergency. |
| develop at eitherend of the season are usually weak. | | | | (2) Take a look at travel insurance policies. Thereare |
| Can you find a "storm free" vacation during the | | | | many policies to fit any vacationers needs, and |
| summermonths? | | | | wesuggest you read the fine print to make sure what |
| Most hurricanes form over the North Atlantic, | | | | iscovered, and what is not. If you cannot afford to |
| comingoff the coast of Africa. They then head in a | | | | losethe money you invested in your trip, you need |
| westerlydirection towards the Caribbean, then usually | | | | topurchase travel insurance. |
| turnnorth towards the U.S. coast. Some of the storms | | | | The purchase of travel insurance policies have |
| mayturn northwards in the open waters of the | | | | doubledover the past few years, and the major |
| Atlanticbefore reaching the islands of the Caribbean. | | | | cancellationreasons are illness, death and weather |
| The islands of Trinidad and Tobago are located | | | | related. Mostpolicies are over 10 pages, and you can |
| beyondthe southern end of the Windward Island chain, | | | | ask for apolicy interpretation if you do not fully |
| andthese two islands experience much less storms | | | | understandwhat the policy covers. |
| than inthe islands that lie further north. Barbados has | | | | (3) Take advantage of Last Minute Vacation |
| alsobeen lucky in that the island has not experienced | | | | Packages. |
| adirect hit in over 20 years. The ABC islands of Aruba, | | | | Not only can you save a bundle, there will be |
| Bonaire and Curacao, are also located outside of | | | | nochance of getting caught in a tropical storm |
| theusual hurricane belt, along with Margarita Island,which | | | | orhurricane activity since there is plenty of |
| is located just off the coast of Venezuela. The | | | | advancewarning. Last minute vacations are available |
| Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean have | | | | within 14days of travel. |
| escapedtropical storms by the close proximity to the | | | | (4) Always use a credit card for travel purchases. |
| Equator. | | | | Youcan always file a claim with your credit card |
| While the islands listed above have not seen | | | | companyfor services or goods that you have not |
| recenthurricane damage, there is no guarantee these | | | | received. |
| islandswill always be completely safe during | | | | Using debit cards can be tricky since the actual |
| hurricaneseason. However the chance of running into | | | | fundshave already been taken from your account. |
| a hurricaneis actually very small - millions of people | | | | With acredit card, a hold is often put on your |
| travel tothese areas and enjoy a wonderful tropical | | | | accountbefore the actual charge appears. This same |
| vacation. | | | | hold canturn up on your bank account. In other words, |
| Since 1995, the Atlantic hurricane season has | | | | a chargecan show up twice on your bank account. A |
| beenabove normal, which means more storm activity. | | | | hold canstay on your account for up to a week in |
| From | | | | some cases. |
| 1970 to 1994, the activity was below normal, and | | | | Once the "hold" falls off, you will have access tothat |
| thesecycles come in 20 + year spans. So we will be | | | | money, however in the meantime, you may |
| dealingwith more active hurricane seasons for quite a | | | | findyourself without available funds. |