Customs personnel in hurricane country must also prepare for the destruction these storms may bring. Customs offices located in areas affected by hurricanes usually prepare hurricane evacuation plans. Depending on the hurricane category, Customs personnel must ensure that evacuation procedures for the office building, equipment, vehicles, boats, aircraft, and personnel - including the canines - are properly carried out.

The hurricane's path
Hurricanes are severe tropical storms that spiral around a calm center or eye. They can cause enormous property damage and can claim numerous lives. Hurricanes generate very strong winds, tornadoes, and floods, but the greatest danger comes from storm surges when the water level rises well above the tide level and floods everything.

The most unsettling characteristic about hurricanes is that their paths and strength are unpredictable. On October 5, Hurricane Lili hit Louisiana only one week after Hurricane Isodore - a slow moving storm that dumped a lot of rainfall - swept through the state. When it passed through the Caribbean, Lili was a category 4 hurricane packing 145-mph winds, but the storm inexplicably weakened to a category 2 right before it came ashore at the Louisiana coastline. In the end, Hurricane Lili left behind a handful of injuries, fallen trees, property damage, flooding, and power outages.

As unpredictable as the consequences of these storms may be, Customs has to be ready for worst case.

Before the hurricane
Preparation for the storm differs among Customs offices. The Gulf Customs Management Center's (CMC's) evacuation plan, for example, may contain different tasks than those of the offices of Field Operations and Investigations in Miami or the Florida Keys.

When a hurricane is expected to hit, the mission critical team, which normally consists of individuals who may handle matters dealing with security, transportation, personnel, and LAN, meets to discuss emergency preparedness steps. "In New Orleans, the mission critical team monitors the situation and decides if the office needs to go into hurricane protection mode," says Nelson Alexander, Operations Specialist, Gulf CMC.

For more information on mission critical teams, please refer to Customs Directive No. 5290-010A, Emergency Preparedness - Notification and Coordination (September 21, 2001).

Normally, 48 hours before the storm hits, employees in the Gulf CMC area begin to secure their office belongings. Computers, printers, fax machines, photocopiers, and other electrical equipment are turned off and unplugged. Employees clear their desks and place everything in their drawers. The window blinds and curtains are drawn. After a hurricane hits, employees are instructed to listen to designated radio and television stations and/or call Sector to learn where and when they should report to work.

There are a lot of logistics to perform. Customs must decide the most secure location for its equipment. "Our Mobile VACIS had to be moved two times to two different locations within one week," says Director Todd Owen, Port of New Orleans. With Hurricane Isodore, the VACIS was moved to the Louisiana National Guard Base in Alexandria, La., because the storm was moving northeast. A few days later when Lili was expected to hit the state in a westward direction, VACIS was relocated to a facility in Pascagoula, La.

That’s not all. The Port of New Orleans has four canines, and there are two in Mobile, Ala. Just before Hurricane Isodore, all six canines were driven to Memphis, Tenn. One week later with Hurricane Lili, the four canines in New Orleans were driven to Mobile. In addition, Customs fleet of vehicles was moved to a high ramp in a parking garage in downtown. Customs operational aircraft and boats moved to a safe storage area.

"It was a miserable two weeks," recalls Owen. "Everyone went home and hoped for the best." Fortunately, both hurricanes were only category 2 and minimal damage was experienced. If a hurricane destroys a building like it did with the Homestead facility in Florida when Andrew hit that state 10 years ago, a COOP (Continuity of Operations Plans) goes into effect and employees are told where they should report to work.

Twenty years ago, Customs employees would put a padlock on the door, go home, and hope for the best. But now with modern technology and equipment, Customs employees need to be aware of emergency preparedness plans before the eye of the storm hits town. Says Owen, "In the case of Isodore and Lili, Customs spent a lot of time and effort preparing for storms that created minimal damage, but all you have to do is remember Andrew, and you know that Customs always has to be prepared."

Watch: Hurricane conditions are possible in the specified area of the watch, usually within 36 hours. Warning: Hurricane conditions are expected in the specific area of the warning, usually within 24 hours.

Hurricane Categories Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a 1 to 5 rating on a hurricane's intensity. Category 3 and higher are considered major hurricanes. Scale Number Winds Types of Damage Examples 1 74-95 Minimal: Damage to shrubbery, trees, foliage and unanchored mobile homes. No real damage to other structures. Irene, 1999 2 96-110 Moderate: Some trees blown down. Major damage to exposed mobile homes. Some damage to roofing materials, windows, and doors. Georges, 1998 Floyd, 1999 3 111-130 Extensive: Large Trees blown down. Mobile homes destroyed. Some structural damage to roofing materials of buildings. Some structural damage to small buildings. Fran, 1996 4 131-155 Extreme: Trees blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to roofing materials, windows, and doors. Complete failure of roofs in many small residences. Andrew, 1992 (Experts now say that Andrew was a category 5 hurricane.) 5 >155 Catastrophic: Complete failure of roofs on many residences and industrial buildings. Extensive damage to windows and doors. Some complete building failure. Camille, 1969 Source: NOAA Web site (www.noaa.com)

Hurricane Trivia A tropical storm is given a name if its winds reach a speed of 74 mph. An international committee has drawn up a list of 126 names - half male and half female - which are repeated after a six-year cycle. However if a hurricane causes extensive damage like Andrew in 1992 its name is retired. The word hurricane comes from the Carib Indian word "hurican," which refers to the tribe's god of evil.