Remember, the best time to become prepared is “before the disaster” which means right now.

I’d highlight a couple of things. First, windspeeds are not everything with a hurricane. The storm surge can be deadly as can intense rainfall and flooding, both in rivers and streams, but also surface water flooding. And, as noted, hurricanes can spawn tornadoes, which were very destructive in Hurricane Andrew, 1992 when it made landfall in Florida.

Compound flooding might not be a new term, but it is fairly new to me. It is only in the last couple of months that I have seen it referred to in professional writings and just the other night on national television news.

Great news! Amanda Ripley has updated her 2008 book Unthinkable with entirely new content on risks and hazards that we were not anticipating not that long ago.

Today I begin a new journey with being associated with The Readiness Lab.

The 2024 Hurricane Season is shaping up to be a significant series of storms due to the temperature of ocean waters.

Certainly climate scientists are pointing to the fact that it is the earliest Cat 5 Hurricane on record. Beryl is likely predictive of our 2024 hurricane season.

When I ran for elected office as a Port Commissioner Candidate years ago I would tell prospective voters who said, “I don’t vote” that there are three requirements of citizenship. Citizens should vote, pay their taxes and serve in the military when called.

It could be that the threat to the electrical grid is not fully understood. Or, maybe politics of the election year are getting in the way of national progress.

Recently there have been two significant incidents occur when clear air turbulence hit commercial aircraft flying at cruising altitude. Both caused significant injuries to passengers and one death.

As we continue, as in other federally declared disasters, the puzzle pieces of Stafford Act, SBA, FHWA, and others are being leveraged and programmed for now and future years.

In the news today is Mexico City. Currently “running out of water” with an estimated “Zero Day” of June 26th when they predict they will be out of water.

67% of billion dollar disasters were thunderstorm related in 2023

Everyone loves to keep records and beat records. Evidently 900 tornadoes at this point in a year is not a record, but it is right up there with the best of them.

“When they invented ships, they invented shipwrecks,” Holdeman said.

Today I am starting a new partnership with The Readiness Lab which will be carrying the Disaster Zone Blog.