 This was the first hurricane to cause significant disruption to oil refining in the Gulf of Mexico . Several hundred active wells went out of service , and drilling came to a halt for a few days during and after the cyclone 's passage . One of Humble company 's <unk> saw three @-@ quarters of its <unk> chains compromised , which swung it around into an adjacent oil platform , causing $ 200 @,@ 000 in damage ( 1956 USD ) . The cost to <unk> in production was greater than the damage Flossy created to the oil rigs . There was no loss of life . Due to the impact of Flossy on oil refining in the Gulf of Mexico , the American Petroleum Institute formed a committee called <unk> Research on Weather <unk> . Their goal was to use mathematical models and historic data to better predict hurricane formation and path . Studies went on into 1962 , but no reliable forecast mechanism was found . 
