Surprisingly, the couple has the same name as 2 super typhoons

Two consecutive super storms Harvey and Irma have caused serious impacts on the United States.

Harvey Schluter is 104 years old and Irma Schluter is 93. The Schluters married in 1942. They lived in Fort Meade, Maryland, for a short time while Harvey was in the military, then moved to Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a barber and she stayed home to take care of the house.

In particular, they have adopted many disadvantaged children, many of whom are disabled or mentally ill. Irma said that over the decades, they have cared for and raised 120 children. In an interview, they said that their greatest achievement was becoming foster parents to those children. They have traveled many places in their mobile homes to visit their adopted children who have grown up.

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey and Irma Schluter.

Both of them have witnessed many important milestones in American history. They remember very clearly the Great Depression of 1929, Neil Armstrong's moon landing, and even the cold and cloudy weather on the day President John Kennedy was assassinated. However, they have never been so surprised in their lives when two consecutive superstorms hit the US with the same name as them.

"I don't know why, how they named the storms Harvey and Irma," said Harvey Schluter, confused when he saw his and his wife's names all over the news about the death toll and damage caused by the super storm.

"I'm really sad because I've never been in a situation like this. I'll try to help people but I don't know how yet," Irma Schluter told reporters.

According to science, since 1979, the World Meteorological Organization has decided to alternate male and female names for storms occurring in the Atlantic. There are 6 lists of names chosen and used in rotation. Therefore, the name of a storm in 2017 will be repeated for another storm in 2023.

Only names that have been assigned to major, catastrophic storms that have caused significant damage and loss are withdrawn from the pool and cannot be used for subsequent storms. Examples of names that have been removed from the list include Hazel in the 1950s; Carla, Hilda, Inez in the 1960s; Agnes, David in the 1970s; Allen, Gilbert, Hugo in the 1980s; Andrew, Mitch in the 1990s; Isabel, Ivan, Katrina, Felix in the 2000s.

The name Harvey was first given to a storm in 1981, and since then there have been six storms named after it. The name Harvey is usually followed by Irene. However, in 2011, Irene was used for a major hurricane that devastated the Caribbean and several cities on the US East Coast and was retired from the naming pool.

Hurricane Harvey became the most powerful storm to hit Texas in 50 years, killing 47 people and forcing more than 1 million to flee their homes. The storm caused an estimated $180 billion in damage.

America was devastated by the super storm.

The name Irma was later chosen for the storm after Hurricane Harvey. Superstorm Irma just swept through the Caribbean region towards the Bahamas and southern Florida in the US, destroying not only many houses and hotels but also breaking many weather records with winds of up to 300 km/h. The damage caused by this storm could be up to 200 billion USD.

Although there has been no official announcement, scientists predict that the names Harvey and Irma will be removed from the list of hurricane names because of the great destruction they have caused.

According to Kienthuc.net.vn