Bracing For A Blow: Hurricane Season

Dave Price Reports From Galveston, Texas, To Mark The Start of Storm Season

(CBS/AP)  A wrecked pick-up truck still sits on a pier in Galveston, Texas -- a reminder of what hurricane season can bring.

And as the season begans on Monday, Early Show weather anchor and features reporter Dave Price reminded viewers what the aftermath of a hurricane is like from the Texas city almost wiped off the map when Hurricane Ike blasted through last September.

Price said the storm has cleared out many people. Before the storm, he reported there were 58,000 residents; now, only about 45,000 remain.

"As you drive along Sea Wall Boulevard," Price said, "it's remarkable how much of this main thoroughfare though has been rebuilt. The tourists are back, the beaches are full, but if you go four blocks in -- just a few blocks away -- you see the devastation still remains, and there's a great deal of work to do."

Price reported Hurricane Ike brought 14-foot high storm surge, damaged 75 percent of structures, and caused $3 billion in damages.

The National Hurricane Center predicts there will be nine to 14 named storms, four to seven hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes -- a Category 3 or higher -- this season.

Price added the number of storms changes often during hurricane season, but the key should be to be prepared early.

Price reported 35 million people live in areas that could be hit by hurricanes this year.

Craig Fugate, a Federal Emergency Management Agency adminstrator, told CBS News, "If you take steps now, and do small things incrementally to get ready for hurricane season, then you don't have all those huge purchases people have to make at the last minute."

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through the end of November each year. The busiest part of the season is typically in August and September.