Bermuda officials are arming themselves with expert advice on coping with a hurricane hit, following predictions of a bad season for the killer storms.

The Government representatives are among 1,500 delegates to a hurricane conference in Orlando, Florida, picking up tips on how to manage the aftermath of such a disaster.

Lessons to be learned from the Hurricane Andrew tragedy are at the top of the agenda.

The conference will today hear from hurricane expert Dr. Bill Gray, of Colorado State University, who has predicted the coming season will be the worst for years. The 1993 season will be as bad as 1989, the last time a hurricane hit Bermuda, Dr. Gray predicts.

He foresees six hurricanes in the Atlantic this year, three of them intense or major storms, lasting a total of 25 days. Hurricanes and storms could do 50 percent more damage than last year, he estimates.

In 1989, Hurricane Dean caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage when it brushed past Bermuda with winds of 86 mph and gusts of 110 mph.

Last year the Island escaped the hurricanes and tropical storms which hit other countries.

Hurricane Andrew, which caused death and devastation in Florida, Louisiana and the Bahamas, is responsible for a bigger-than-usual turn-out at this year's conference.

In the conference's closing speech today, Dr. Gray is expected to explain that hurricane activity has actually declined in the last 25 years, a trend linked to the long drought in West Africa. The professor is due to update his forecast on June 4.