With meteorologists claiming that Hurricane Irene has the potential to be the worst hurricane to hit the Northeast since Hurricane Gloria in 1985, travel plans and end of summer vacations are being uprooted as evacuations loom.
It is suspected that the storm will impact 1 in 5 Americans, which is more than 65 million people from North Carolina to Maine. Governors in Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia have declared a state of emergency in order to free up state resources for storm-related expenses. In New York City those expenses already include evacuation costs after Mayor Bloomberg ordered hospital and nursing home patients in coastal areas to be moved to higher ground.
In North Carolina, the first state in the hurricane’s current path, President Barack Obama has authorized Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate disaster response and mobile resources. Currently 180 National Guard troops and 48 state troopers are working to evacuate over 250,000 vacationers and residents from Bogue Banks to the Currituck Banks in Carteret County.
Hurricane Irene's probable path, according to the National Hurricane Center
This morning, there were reports that Hurricane Irene did weaken somewhat over the Atlantic, but it is capable of intensifying again prior to reaching North Carolina. As of press time, Irene has 105 mph winds, making it a Category 2 hurricane, according to a National Hurricane Center bulletin.
It is expected to stay a Category 2 or 3 hurricane as it travels through the east coast. For up to the moment storm tracking, check out Myweather.com’s hurricane tracker.
Almost all of the major airlines have and are continuing to cancel flights. Between August 21 and August 25, Jet Blue has canceled 141 flights, which mainly includes flights to and from the Bahamas. As of Thursday, American Airlines canceled 126 flights due to the hurricane. Going forward, AirTran has a watch list for flights out of 11 East Coast cities. So far, Delta Air has just canceled two flights because of the storm, but more cancellations are expected as the storm progresses.
This morning Jet Blue announced they will preemptively cancel an additional 882 flights between Saturday and Monday of this weekend. Currently, Southwest is the only other airline with preemptive cancelations, canceling two dozen flights out of Northfolk, Virginia.
Collectively, the major airlines are allowing travelers to rebook, or in their language “make space-available changes” without fees or penalties. For a complete airline to airline breakdown of hurricane-related cancelation policies click here.
The predicted storm surge for Hurricane Irene according to forecasts from the National Hurricane Center.
In addition to canceled flights, 20 cruise lines have changed itineraries. Amtrak has canceled most service for trains operating south of Washington, D.C. in anticipation of the hurricane. Currently service in the Northeast corridor is not affected, but Amtrak has warned that further cancellations might be necessary. Indeed, even the New York subway is warning of service cancellations this weekend.
When dealing with hurricane related travel cancelation, Priceline’s Brian Ek cautions that, “[a travel provider’s] cancellation and change decisions can change at any time.” Those cancelation decision are made by airlines, hotels and rental car agencies, and not travel agents. While airlines have issued statements regarding rebooking, hotels and rental companies can choose to issue a credit for future use or a refund. Ek recommends having all the necessary information together including flight numbers & times, airline confirmation and ticket numbers, hotel and rental car confirmation numbers as well as the the phone numbers and web addresses for your travel agent and your airline, hotel, and or rental car company.
Incidents like these bring to light the importance of travel insurance. Hurricanes are an example of “named peril” coverage. John Cook, the president of QuoteWright.com, cautions that trip cancellation and interruption coverages will only reimburse a traveler in this instance if a hurricane is listed as a “covered reasons” to cancel or interrupt a trip.
Though hurricane is not directly listed in many travel policies as a “covered reason,” many travel insurance polices allow you to cancel or interrupt your trip due to weather conditions if they cause your carrier (airline, train, cruise, bus) to not operate. In addition to weather coverage, most plans allow you to cancel or interrupt your trip if your home is made uninhabitable due to a natural disaster, like a hurricane.
By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com.
Related links: CNN, MyWeather Press Release, Bloomberg, LA Times, USA Today, Priceline Blog, Charlotte News-Observer, CNN, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
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