MIAMI, USA (AFP): US experts warned Tuesday that seven to nine more Atlantic hurricanes could form this year, mainly threatening Caribbean islands and the US coast, after two such storms killed 70 people last month. "Given the forecast that the remainder of the season will be very active, it is imperative that residents and government officials in hurricane-vulnerable communities have a hurricane preparedness plan in place," the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement. Weather and hurricane experts at NOAA agreed the rest of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, would be particularly active. They forecast that 11 to 14 tropical storms would form, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes, and three to five of those becoming major hurricanes -- meaning they would range from category three to the maximum of five on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Hurricanes Dennis and Emily, which left a trail of devastation in the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States last month, both reached a rare intensity four. Hurricane activity in the Atlantic generally peaks between August and October, when many of the storms form over the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. "Tropical storms that form over the tropical Atlantic Ocean generally track westward toward the Caribbean Islands and/or United States as they strengthen into hurricanes, and therefore pose an increased threat to these regions," NOAA said. The experts said their predictions for the season reflected a continuation of above normal hurricane activity that began in 1995. They pointed out that this was not unusual as hurricane activity in the Atlantic has in the past alternated between decades during which it was above-normal, and decades of relative calm. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com