'Twin Hurricanes in 120 Years'... Concerns Over Consecutive Strikes in US Gulf of Mexico

Hurricane Chain Landfall Warning in Louisiana Near the Gulf of Mexico
First Time Since 1900 for Two Hurricanes to Make Landfall Within 48 Hours

Tropical Storm Laura made landfall in Haiti on the 23rd, causing significant damage. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Concerns are growing that the United States could suffer significant damage following the wildfires that struck California and the landfall of the first-ever 'twin hurricanes' since weather observations began.

On the 23rd (local time), the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) upgraded Tropical Storm Marco to a hurricane. Marco is currently recording maximum wind speeds of 75 miles per hour (120 km/h). The NHC designates tropical storms with wind speeds exceeding 74 miles per hour as hurricanes.

Marco is currently moving northward at 14 miles per hour in the central Gulf of Mexico and is expected to strike Louisiana on the 24th.

Tropical Storm Laura, moving from the Dominican Republic and Haiti toward the east of Cuba, is forecast to be upgraded to a hurricane around the 25th. The NHC expects Laura to reach the U.S. coastline on the 26th.

Laura and Marco are the 12th and 13th named Atlantic tropical storms of this year, respectively. The Associated Press reported that the simultaneous appearance of two hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, an area frequently hit by hurricanes, is the first occurrence since weather observations began in 1900.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

CNN also expressed concern that the unprecedented consecutive hurricanes are targeting Louisiana.

With the approach of Marco and Laura, which have struck the Caribbean coasts including the Dominican Republic, the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi have declared emergencies.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has dispatched response teams to Louisiana and Texas, and U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized the need for preparedness against hurricane damage during a briefing that day.

Benjamin Short, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Weather Service, warned CNN, "It is unprecedented in modern meteorological history for two hurricanes to be heading toward the same location within 48 hours."

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