Hurricane Alberto puts Florida and Caribbean on alert

FLORIDA and the Caribbean islands were last night braced for the first hurricane of the season, although scientists believe that there will be no repeat of last year’s record-breaking devastation.

Scientists predict the 2006 season could produce up to 16 named storms, six of them major hurricanes.

Last year’s hurricane season was the busiest and most destructive on record. Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and Mississippi and was blamed for more than 1,570 deaths in Louisiana alone. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from New Orleans, many of whom are yet to return home after much of the city was flooded.