Read: Buy flood insurance, heed advice

Regardless of where they live, residents should buy flood insurance because it’s such a good deal, the nation’s foremost authority on hurricanes told a Biloxi audience today.

Most homeowners face a greater threat from flooding than they do from a fire, yet many homeowners have fire insurance but not flood insurance, Read said.

“I encourage everyone to get flood insurance, simply because it’s such a good deal,” Read told an audience of slightly more than a hundred attending a luncheon to mark the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille.

Read also noted that for all of the advancements in forecasting hurricanes, residents bear personal responsibility for preparing and heeding the advice.

In 1969, when Camille decimated Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, forecasters were able to predict where a storm would hit within 400 miles at 72 hours before landfall. Today, forecasters can make that call within 150 miles at 72 hours out, and they’ve improved the 48-hour landfall prediction from 250 miles in 1969 to less than a hundred miles today.

“Still,” Read said, “it’s up to the individual to take personal responsibility and take action when they hear the warnings.”

Photos online: To see photos from today’s luncheon, click here.


Later today: Camille memorial observance, documentary on Cable 13

At 5:30 this afternoon, the Camille memorial on the grounds of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer will be the site of the annual Camille observance.

And to mark the 40th anniversary of Camille, the city and Cable One are resurrecting the documentary “A Lady Called Camille” and airing it this evening at 8:30 and 10:30 on Cable 13.