(May 11 2007) - While in Washington to accept a Department of Commerce Bronze Award for the staff at WFO Lake Charles, La. -- Senior Forecaster Kent Kuyper and Electric System Analysis Danny Dowden were invited to visit U.S. Representative Charles Boustany's office on Capitol Hill. The Congressman wanted to personally thank the Lake Charles employees for their outstanding work during Hurricane Rita which devastated the southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas coast on September 24, 2005.

The Bronze Medal was awarded to the Weather Forecast Office for implementation of an awareness and preparedness program which was instrumental in maintaining a minimal loss of life during Hurricane Rita.

Having identified hurricanes as the most significant threat to public safety in the office's area of responsibility, the staff established procedures to ensure that elected officials, emergency responders and the public understood the danger and the National Weather Service programs designed to help them make critical life saving decisions.

The success of these efforts is evident, since as only one hurricane related death occurred as Rita ripped into southwest Louisiana in September of 2005.

It is impossible to determine how many lives were saved by these efforts. But if the single fatality attributed directly to Hurricane Rita is compared with similar local hurricanes - such as the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (6000+) or Hurricane Audrey in 1957 (400+), the obvious conclusion is that the hurricane preparedness partnerships were successful. Elected officials and emergency responders had the up-to-date information to make correct life-saving decisions -- and the public responded appropriately.

Hurricane Rita caused an estimated 10 billion dollars of damage to the northwest Gulf coast.