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www.sea-technology.com April 2015 / st 39 N atural disasters are always a concern and must be planned for as best as possible. There are unique circumstances for every part of the world, including an intricate system of things to expect and best practices for worst-case sce- narios. For the Gulf of Mexico, hurricane season is the time of the year when residents in the sur- rounding coastal areas prepare for the possibility of disaster. Hurricanes can hit home on several levels. Luckily, there are dedicated companies with skilled professionals to help pick up the pieces regardless of the state of the storm. When dealing with the aftermath of what's left in the wake of the surge, pros take every aspect of the environment and the economy into consider- ation in order to improve upon what might oth- erwise be considered a worst-case outcome. The amount of money and the quantity of man-hours that are dedicated to post-hurri- cane seasons are astounding numbers. One of the most infamous storms was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. On August 27 that year, this killer weather system was detected off the tropical Atlantic. Atlantic hurricane season usually hits peak of stormy activity in early-to-mid- September. In fact, more storms are expected in September than during any other timeframe of the six-month hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 through November 30. The system that is now known as the Galveston Hurricane reached Cuba as a tropical storm on September 3, 1900 and moved into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on September 5. By September 8, the storm had reached the Texas coast just south of Galveston, Texas, and was considered a Cat- egory 4 hurricane on the Saffr-Simpsons Hurricane Scale, which ranks 5 as the strongest storm category. This hurri- cane is known as the deadliest weather disaster in United States history, with storm tides of 8 to 15 feet swallowing the whole of Galveston Island and portions of the nearby Texas coast. These surges are considered largely responsible for the 8,000 deaths attributed to the storm (estimates range from 6,000 to 12,000) and caused property damages at an estimated $30 million…. But that was just the price tag for the coastline. Subsea Setbacks Massive amounts of damages and setbacks happen off- shore during these powerful weather systems. In 2005, the Gulf of Mexico suffered hurricanes Katrina and Rita that de- stroyed 109 oil platforms and fve drilling rigs. Wrecking 63 platforms and one drilling rig, Rita accounts for most of the damage that year in a region that ordinarily produces nearly one-third of U.S. crude oil exports. That August, Katrina took out 46 platforms and four drilling rigs when it hit the Gulf one month after Rita. The combined effect of the two hurricanes also caused extensive damage to another 50 platforms and 19 drilling rigs. These systems shined a light on how much offshore production is affected during storms. About 2,900 platforms were in the path of the hurricanes, and the dollar amount of repairing the damaged facilities is in the billions. In addition, crude oil production came to a halt as Gulf sites were evacuated in preparation for the hurricanes. Roughly Energy Infrastructure Post-Hurricane Season Decommissioning Tools for the Aftermath of Natural Disasters By Yvette Schmiz The BTC diamond wire.