Louisiana ranks No. 1 on the list of “Top 10 States Most at Risk Of Disaster,” according to Kiplinger.com.

“The Pelican State has the unfortunate distinction of being the most disaster-prone state in the nation, largely because of Hurricane Katrina, which was the costliest disaster in U.S. history,” the Kiplinger website says.

Kiplinger advises Louisiana residents to adequately prepare for the upcoming 2011 hurricane season, which begins in June.

Forecasters at Colorado State University released the predictions for the upcoming hurricane season in December.

The 2011 Colorado State forecast includes 17 named storms and nine hurricanes, five of which are predicted to be major storms.

Hurricanes are considered major if they fall between Categories 3 through 5, according to the Colorado State report.

The report predicts 48 percent of storms will make landfall on the Gulf Coast between the Florida panhandle and Brownsville, Texas, an area that also includes Louisiana.

The Colorado State forecasters make their predictions based on a system of teleconnections, which refers to the idea that weather in one part of the world affects the weather in another, Barry Keim, professor of geography and anthropology, told The Daily Reveille in January.

Keim said the main factor of whether a hurricane season will be active has to do with El Niño and La Niña in the Eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

El Niño occurs when sea temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are warmer than normal, which in turn causes cooler than normal Atlantic temperatures and therefore a lighter hurricane season, according to Keim.

La Niña is the exact opposite — when cooler temperatures in the Pacific cause warmer temperatures in the Atlantic and therefore a more intense hurricane season, Keim said.

“We’re in a La Niña year right now,” Keim said. “Unless we swing into a strong El Niño, we can expect an above-average season.”

Keim said some of the worst hurricanes Louisiana has seen have been during “very quiet years.”

People in Louisiana need to be on guard at all times because there have been bad storms in quiet years, Keim said.

“Hurricane season serves as a great reminder to re-evaluate your preparedness plans and update your emergency toolkits,” said Col. Joseph Booth, LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute executive director.

The institute strongly encourages people to prepare families and businesses for upcoming hurricanes.

“It’s time for preparedness to go viral,” Booth said. “We encourage the entire LSU community to not only prepare themselves but to help prepare their friends and families. We actually have to put preparedness into action to make a difference.”