As Floridians prepare themselves and their families for another hurricane season, government and nonprofit officials are urging them also to prepare to help others if a storm should strike the state.

“Generous volunteers meet essential needs. Their tireless efforts help supplement what government programs provide,” Read more about Hurricane Preparation — Consider Volunteering

AmSouth Bank wants consumers to prepare their finances for natural disaster, not just their homes. While supplies last, AmSouth is offering Natural Disaster Kits, binders that will help customers gather and store important financial documents, in the event of an evacuation during a storm. The kits are available in all coastal AmSouth branches. Read more about AmSouth Offers Financial Preparedness Kits for Hurricane Season

Recent tropical storm Alberto made everyone realize that the hurricane season is indeed upon us. Today, Internet connectivity is of vital importance to most small businesses. When they lose that connection, they can lose thousands of dollars in profit. The following is a series of tips from satellite broadband provider Hughes Network Systems, LLC on how small businesses can stay connected during a hurricane. Read more about Small Business Lifeline During Hurricane Season

Florida’s workforce system - Employ Florida - is mobilizing to address the needs of Hurricane Katrina victims.

There are over 30 workforce One-Stop centers strategically located in cities along the I-10 and I-75 corridors in North Florida east to Jacksonville and South to Ocala, as well as a robust internet-based set of services/information that can be accessed electronically. Read more about Florida’s Workforce System to Aid Hurricane Katrina Victims

Hurricane Ivan, which caused a swathe of destruction across the Caribbean last September before crashing into the U.S. Gulf coast, generated ocean waves more than 90 feet high, researchers said on Thursday. They may have been the tallest waves ever measured with modern instruments, suggesting that prior estimates for maximum hurricane wave heights are too low, William Teague of the Naval Research Laboratory at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and colleagues reported. Read more about it here.

A very active Atlantic hurricane season is underway, and with more storms projected, NOAA today increased the number of storms in its 2005 hurricane season outlook. NOAA expects an additional 11 to 14 tropical storms from August through November, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes, including three to five major hurricanes. In total, this season is likely to yield 18 to 21 tropical storms, with nine to 11 becoming hurricanes, including five to seven major hurricanes.

“The tropics are only going to get busier as we enter the peak of the season,” Read more about 2005 Hurricane Season To Be Worse Than Expected

Although Dennis is no longer a hurricane, as a tropical depression it still is a rainfall threat to western Tennessee, western Kentucky, southern Illinois and southern Indiana. Read more about Hurricane Dennis Weakens, Becomes Depression

According to B. Bernard and M. Ressler, Meteorologists at The Weather Channel, Hurricane Dennis made landfall on Santa Rosa Island between Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach as a Category 3 hurricane with Read more about Hurricane Dennis Makes Landfall

Hurricane Dennis emerged into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico today after pummeling Cuba. A much weaker hurricane, currently a category one, it does not show immediate signs of strengthening yet but is expected to get stronger as it moves over warm waters.

Hurricane Dennis has sustained winds of 90mph and is moving northwest at 14mph.

Source: National Hurricane Center

Orlando’s vast supply of hotel rooms quickly sold out during last year’s hurricanes, but this year the nation’s second-biggest hotel market could dry up even faster because of advance bookings, hospitality experts said Thursday.

Hundreds or possibly thousands of the Orlando area’s 113,000 rooms are already committed to businesses willing to pay full rates even if they don’t use the rooms at all, hotel operators said during a hurricane symposium at the Ritz-Carlton at Grande Lakes Orlando Resort.

“We’re seeing a lot of advance bookings, and it presents a challenge,” said Penny Leffel, general manager of the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Sanford.

That 105-room hotel already has booked numerous “hurricane standby” rooms for utility companies and other businesses that don’t want to be caught short if they have to bring in hundreds of workers after a storm, Leffel said.

“People are just smarter now” in lining up rooms in case they need them, she said. “The inventory balance has not been addressed.”

Via Hotel-Online.com