month Atlantic hurricane season off to a rapid start, and underscored predictions that the 2005 storm season could be as busy as 2004's. The season began on June 1 and runs through November. Last season saw 15 tropical storms, of which nine became hurricanes. Four hit Florida in a six-week period, causing $45 billion in damages and killing 57 people directly in the United States. One storm, Jeanne, killed 3,000 in Haiti. September's Hurricane Ivan went into the record books as the most devastating storm for the Gulf of Mexico oil industry, and the much-weaker Arlene appeared to be on a similar track. Top Gulf producer Chevron Corp. said on Friday it was evacuating 900 workers, but production was not affected. --More 0018 Local Time 2118 GMT
