HALIFAX, NS, September 16, 2004. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and Environment Canada's Canadian Hurricane Centre have joined forces to mark the one year anniversary of Hurricane Juan and to raise public awareness about hurricanes in general with a special new exhibit and public program called Hurricane Havoc: One Year After Juan.

The temporary exhibit will be on display at the Maritime Museum in Halifax Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004 through the fall.

"A number of the stories we tell in our permanent exhibits at the museum come from the personal experiences of seafarers who have lived through terrible storms that have battered our coastlines for centuries," said John Hennigar Shuh, general manager of the Maritime Museum. "There is avid public interest not only in this history but, as well, in the effects of contemporary storms like Juan on our coastal and marine environments."

The exhibit will include a giant wall map of the north Atlantic Ocean on which museum staff, with guidance from the Canadian Hurricane Centre, will track and update daily all the tropical storms during the 2004 hurricane season. A special photo display will also feature dramatic images taken during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Juan by Len Wagg and other photographers from the Chronicle Herald.

As of today, Sept. 16, the Atlantic Ocean has delivered up more tropical storms and intense hurricanes than at this point last year, and last year was considered an active year. The last 10 years have had more hurricanes than any decade on record.

Hurricane Ivan, the 9th named storm of the 2004 hurricane season, has already caused extensive damage and claimed lives in the Caribbean and has made landfall in Alabama, near Gulf Shores. The Canadian Hurricane Centre is monitoring Ivan closely to determine what, if any, potential impact it may have in Canada. Right on Ivan's heels, Tropical Storm Jeanne is moving north westward toward the Bahamas.

"In acknowledging the one year anniversary of Hurricane Juan, we hope not to simply relive the tragedies of the storm but to draw some educational and scientific value from it," said Garth Bangay, regional director general for Environment Canada, Atlantic Region. "If we are able to collectively study and better understand what happened during this storm, we can learn from the experience and be better prepared to deal with the next one of its kind."

Experience shows that awareness and understanding are key to public preparedness for severe weather events. It is therefore critical that people recognize and be prepared for the potential for these expected increased incidences, and the potential impacts, of these storms. The Hurricane Havoc program is aimed at helping people do just that.

As part of the program, the museum will host a Hurricane Juan Science Fair on Saturday, Sept 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Special presentations will be given on Canadian hurricane climatology, wind and aircraft data from Hurricane Juan, the sounds of the winds of Juan, the waves and storm surge of Juan in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the coastal impacts of Juan and the impacts of Juan on the woodlands and parks of Central Nova Scotia.

On Saturday, Oct. 2, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., staff of Halifax Regional Municipality, Emergency Measures Organizations, the Canadian Hurricane Centre, the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and others will gather at a public forum to look back at Hurricane Juan, examine the lessons learned, and discuss what Nova Scotians would do differently should a similar storm affect the area in the future.

The public program will also include a Hurricane Talk Series on Tuesday evenings, from Sept. 21 to Oct. 5. The three illustrated talks will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night and will include the following themes: Hurricanes of Renown, by Alan Ruffman; Juan and Ships in Halifax Harbour, by Mac MacKay and; The Tracking of Juan, by Peter Bowyer, Canadian Hurricane Centre.

To guarantee that this program is accessible to everyone, the science fair, illustrated talks, public forum and access to the weather map exhibit will be free, thanks in part to the partnership with Environment Canada's Canadian Hurricane Centre and the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.

More program detail is available on the museum's website at http://maritime.museum.gov.ns.ca . The public can also access the latest hurricane information by visiting http://www.canadianhurricanecentre.ca

For more information, please contact:

Gerry Lunn Maritime Museum of the Atlantic 902 424 8793 E mail: lunnge@gov.ns.ca

Peter Bowyer
Canadian Hurricane Centre, Environment Canada
902 426 9181