ROGER PIELKE: “Along the entire coast from Texas all the way up through Maine in the United States, there are today very few locations where a hurricane can make landfall without causing an enormous amount of damage.”

Still, Roger Pielke credits stronger building rules and better weather predictions for saving lives and limiting costs.

Irene is unlikely to be the only major hurricane this year. Two powerful storms are threatening the coastal United States. One is nearing the Gulf of Mexico, the other is in the Atlantic Ocean.

September is normally the most active month of the hurricane season. Experts predicted eight to ten hurricanes in two thousand eleven. That is higher than normal.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. For transcripts and mp3 of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.