TxDot Lufkin Prepares For "Above Average" 2022 Hurricane Season

The threat of hurricanes affecting daily life here in the Pineywoods is always very real. If we are not directly affected, we are indirectly affected by traffic from nearby coastal cities trying to escape the storm.

It has been a few years since we have really had a significant impact in our area from hurricanes. It's been 16 years, 7 months, and 3 weeks since Hurricane Rita, but hey who is counting?

Hurricane Rita made landfall near the Sabine Pass as a category 3 hurricane on September 24th, 2005. It downed trees and led to long-term power outages in Lufkin, Nacogdoches, and all over Deep East Texas.

Plans Made For An Active 2022 Hurricane Season In Lufkin, Texas

District leaders met at the Lufkin District TxDot offices on Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 to discuss plans for this year's hurricane season. They discussed contra-flow traffic lanes, evacuation routes, and clean-up.

Evacuation routes are US 59, a designated contra-flow highway, US 96, US 69, and US 259. That means that even if we don't get hit by the storm, evacuees coming to our area are a very real possibility.

Hurricane season is from June 1st to November 30th and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted 19 named storms and four major hurricanes.

TxDot Urges The Public To Be Prepared And Plan Ahead Of Hurricane Season

Make a hurricane plan for your family, including a review of evacuation routes. Start gathering supplies now in case of a power outage.

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Batteries, fuel, food, and water could be in short supply if something were to happen. Find resources for planning ahead at txdot.gov or drivetexas.org.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.