In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

Dr. Rick Knabb, a hurricane expert with the Weather Channel, has just published a list of “Top 5 Hurricane Vulnerable Cities” which “have been selected based on a combination of the amount of people and property at high risk, and how long it has been since the area has been directly affected by a very [...]

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As the arrival of Alex signals the start of the hurricane season, I wanted to highlight a recent U.S. Census Bureau study that found in the last 50 years the population in coastline counties has almost doubled, with growth along the Gulf of Mexico soaring by 150 percent.
“Coastline counties along the Atlantic and Gulf, as [...]

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With storm season beginning in earnest and the first named Atlantic hurricane heading towards the Texas coast, I thought I would mention that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has altered the way it will report the five-category Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale eliminating estimates on storm surge and inland flooding from rainfall.
According to an Associated Press story [...]

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I don’t know if I should thank my friend Rich Cooper for informing us of yet another threat to be concerned about — space weather. But alas, more information the better is a watchword of this blog. In a post, “Painfully Unprepared For Space Weather” on the Security Debrief blog, Rich writes about attending the Space [...]

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An article in the News-Press of Fort Myers, Florida, “Poll Finds Most U.S. Coastal Residents Not Prepared For Hurricanes,” reported on a new Mason-Dixon/National Hurricane Survival Initiative survey that nearly three out of four residents of coastal states take no steps to brace their homes for hurricanes. According to the piece:
One in three have no [...]

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In an article, “As Hurricane Season Begins, Survey Finds FloridiansUnder-Prepared, Under-Motivated,” Eliot Kleinberg of the Palm Beach Post writes about a poll just released by the Florida Division of Emergency Management. According to the piece:
In 2004 and 2005, Florida went through one of the most hellacious two-year stretches on record. Four hurricanes slammed the state [...]

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SunSentinel.com in South Florida has an article, “Social Media Likely To Play Role During Hurricane Season,” which describes how local government and media are increasingly using the new information distribution platform in their disaster preparedness plans:
Before a storm hits, the Internet-driven sites will allow people to monitor a tropical system’s progress, receive evacuation orders and [...]

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With Virginia’s third-annual tax-free preparedness supplies holiday week starting today, the Governor’s top preparedness adviser told me in an interview that the idea has been a win-win-win’ success increasing focus on disaster readiness among the public, business and the media. ”The holiday gets people’s attention, says Terrie Suit, assistant to Governor Bob McDonnell for Commonwealth Preparedness, “before [...]

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If the Nashville flood, the Oklahoma tornadoes, the Gulf Coast oil spill and the Times Square attempted bombing haven’t persuaded the public to think about preparing for an emergency, maybe news that Accuweather forecaster Joe Bastardi is predicting this year’s hurricane season will be in the “Top Ten” with 16 to 18 “named” storms will [...]

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A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says that since 2005 the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has “made progress in expanding and strengthening its tsunami warning and mitigation capabilities but faces challenges in both areas, as well as in moving its tsunami research to application.”
On the citizen and community preparedness front, the GAO urged NOAA to [...]

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