Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are predicting at least seven Atlantic hurricanes this year, with as many as five matching Ivan's destructive force. An unprecedented four hurricanes struck Florida in rapid succession during the fall of 2004. Since 1900, tropical storms making landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast have caused more than $100 billion in damages (adjusted to 2004 dollars). Over the past 30 years coastal population growth has quadrupled; more than 69 million people now reside along the hurricane prone coastlines in the United States.