Hurricane Laura
was a deadly and destructive Category 4 hurricane that tied with the 1856 Last Island hurricane as the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana, as measured by maximum sustained winds. The twelfth named storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, Laura originated from a large tropical wave that moved off the West African coast on August 16 and became a tropical depression on August 20. Laura intensified into a tropical storm a day later, becoming the earliest twelfth named storm on record in the North Atlantic basin, forming eight days earlier than 1995's Hurricane Luis.
Laura first hit the Lesser Antilles and brushed Puerto Rico as a tropical storm, then moved across the island of Hispaniola, killing 31 people in Haiti and four in the Dominican Republic. The storm then moved across the length of Cuba, prompting tropical storm warnings and the evacuation of more than 260,000 people there. Subsequently, the outer rain bands extended into the Florida Keys and South Florida. Laura then moved across the Gulf of Mexico, strengthening slowly at first, before a period of rapid intensification on August 26. That day, Laura became a major hurricane, and later attained peak 1-minute sustained winds of 150 mph (240 km/h), making it a Category 4 hurricane.
Early on August 27, Laura made landfall near peak intensity on Cameron, Louisiana. This was the tenth-strongest U.S. hurricane landfall by windspeed on record. The storm caused the deaths of at least 42 people in the U.S. and inflicted an estimated $14 billion in damages on southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas near the Gulf of Mexico. After landfall, Laura weakened as it moved inland, becoming a tropical storm later that day, and weakening further to a tropical depression over Arkansas the next day. On August 29, Laura degenerated into a remnant low over Kentucky, before being absorbed into another extratropical storm near the East Coast of the U.S. shortly afterward. Overall, Laura caused more than $14.1 billion in damage and 77 deaths. Areas that were affected by Laura, namely the Gulf Coast, were affected again six weeks later by Hurricane Delta.
Puerto Rico EARTHQUAKE
(CNN)A 5.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded off the waters of southern Puerto Rico early Saturday, rattling the city of Ponce, according to the US Geological Survey.
Other earthquakes ranging from 3.4 to 4.9 on the Richter scale have hit the same area.
No tsunami advisory has been issued.
Ponce Mayor Maria "Mayita" Melendez said several buildings were damaged.
Officials are assessing the quake's effects and checking on citizens, she said.
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The Electric Energy Authority tweeted that its EcoElectrica power plant was offline, but crews were working to restore service. It was not clear how many residents had lost power.
The Puerto Rican Water and Sewage Authority has inspected three dams on the island and found no damage, Gov. Wanda Vazquez Garced said in a tweet.
"We emphasize the importance of remaining calm and urge everyone to always use a face covering when outside the home," Vazquez said in a tweet in Spanish.
Vazquez thanked FEMA officials and President Donald Trump, saying the island will "have all the resources it needs" in a tweet.
Villalba Mayor Javy Hernandez said on Twitter that the city has no fatalities and is "blessed."
Guayanilla Mayor Nelson Torres Yordan reported no road or structural damage in a message on Twitter.
Nazario Lugo Burgos, president of the Association of Emergency Managers and Security Professionals for Puerto Rico, posted a graphic to Twitter on how to take cover during a quake.
Hurricane Dorian
Dorian developed from a tropical wave on August 24 over the Central Atlantic. The storm moved through the Lesser Antilles and became a hurricane north of the Greater Antilles on August 28. Dorian proceeded to undergo rapid intensification over the following days to reach its peak as a Category 5 hurricane with one-minute sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 910 millibars (26.87 inHg) by September 1. It made landfall in the Bahamas in Elbow Cay, just east of Abaco Island, and again on Grand Bahama several hours later, where it remained nearly stationary for the next day or so. After weakening considerably, Dorian began moving northwestward on September 3, parallel to the east coast of Florida. Dwindling in strength, the hurricane turned to the northeast the next day and made landfall on Cape Hatteras at Category 2 intensity on September 6. It transitioned into an extratropical cyclone before striking first Nova Scotia and then Newfoundland with hurricane-force winds on September 8. It finally dissipated near Greenland on September 10.
What WE Do
Super Typhoon Yuto
5th Strongest Storm to Make Landfall
Earlier today Super Typhoon Yuto made landfall in the Northern Mariana Islands with sustained winds estimated at 180 mph. That makes it tied for the 5th strongest storm on record to make landfall anywhere in the world. Just a reminder. A typhoon is the same thing as a hurricane. They are just called typhoons in that part of the world.
Hurricane Maria
made its first landfall on the Caribbean island nation of Dominica on Monday, September 18, as a Category 5 storm with winds topping 160 mph - the strongest hurricane on record to make landfall there. Days later, the storm devastated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
- Maria is the first Category 4 hurricane to directly impact Puerto Rico in 85 years
- Nearly the entire population of Puerto Rico -- more than 3 million American citizens -- are without electricity in Puerto Rico, nearly a week after Maria made landfall on Wednesday, September 20
- It could take four to six months until power is restored, officials there say
- Puerto Rico had not yet fully recovered from Hurricane Irma, which pummelled the island with high winds just two weeks earlier
Who WE ARE
The GenServ team has qualified individuals available for deployment around the world at a moment’s notice to assist with disaster recovery. Our dedicated team has been critical in the recovery efforts of many historical storms. We are proud of each and every team member and the accommodations they have received from our clients.
WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT
Having a team that can adapt to changing circumstances is paramount to a project’s success. GenServ prides itself in having teams of workers and leaders that are willing to adapt to those changing circumstances while never loosing focus on the success of the mission for our clients. Our history has proven this can be accomplished without jeopardizing the key project components of Safety and Quality.
