As Hurricane Preparedness Week unfolds, Tidal Basin Group stands vigilant, equipped, and ready to navigate the challenges posed by the impending hurricane season. We share these insights from the esteemed Climate Adaptation Center (CAC) in Sarasota, FL, and invaluable preparedness tips from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which reflects our commitment to helping our stakeholders and clients safeguard their communities.
The 2024 hurricane predictions from the Climate Adaptation Center serve as a clarion call to action and a guiding light for strategic preparedness efforts. Experts anticipate heightened activity in the Atlantic basin, with projections indicating an above-average hurricane season. The CAC has forecasted 24 named storms, 12 hurricanes, and 6 major hurricanes for the 2024 season. Major hurricanes, categorized as at least a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, with sustained winds of 111 miles per hour or greater, pose significant threats. These numbers represent an uptick from the previous year, underscoring the necessity for heightened vigilance and robust preparedness measures amidst evolving climatic patterns and potential hazards.
Such forecasts underscore the importance of preparedness and resilience in facing potential adversities. NOAA recommends the following key strategies to strengthen your disaster preparedness:
- Develop a Comprehensive Plan: Establish a robust hurricane preparedness plan tailored to your unique operational landscape to ensure a structured and coordinated response in times of crisis. Reach out to your communities and ensure your citizens also develop family preparedness plans. Family planning resources are available to share with your communities at Ready.gov/plan-form.
- Secure Critical Assets: Safeguard infrastructure, data, and essential resources against potential storm-related damages to protect your operational continuity and minimize disruptions to facilitate swift recovery efforts.
- Enhance Communication Channels: Maintain open lines of communication with internal and external stakeholders to foster transparency, enable timely dissemination of critical information, and cultivate trust amidst uncertainty. Communicate frequently and openly with your community to help ensure their safety.
- Prioritize Safety Measures: Uphold the safety and well-being of your workforce by equipping employees with the necessary resources and training to empower them to make informed decisions and respond effectively to evolving situations.
- Assemble Emergency Kits: Ensure emergency kits for your staff are well-stocked with essential supplies, including non-perishable food, water, medications, flashlights, batteries, and important documents. Provide guidance to your communities on how to assemble emergency kits to ensure the well-being of your citizens. Resources are available to share with your community at Ready.gov/kit.
- Know Evacuation Routes: Ensure your team is familiar with all local and state evacuation routes. Reach out to your communities in a timely manner so they have the necessary information to evacuate safely and encourage them to heed evacuation orders promptly to ensure safety. Resources are available to share with your communities ahead of storms to prepare them for potential evacuations at Ready.gov/evacuation.
- Secure Property: Take proactive measures to secure your organization’s property by reinforcing doors and windows, trimming trees and shrubs, and securing loose outdoor items. Communicate these safety tips with your communities so they can also secure their personal properties.
- Stay Informed: Stay tuned to national and state weather advisories and encourage your communities to stay tuned to local weather updates and advisories through NOAA Weather Radio or other reliable local sources to stay informed about storm developments and potential hazards.
Our Tidal Basin team implements these same preparedness tips and continually monitors weather forecasts to ensure we stand poised and ready to partner with your organization to navigate the challenges of the upcoming hurricane season with resilience and adaptability.
Contact us if your organization and/or community needs assistance with preparing ahead of the storm. Our team of preparedness and resilience professionals is ready to provide expert advice, planning, training, and exercises to ensure your teams are ready to weather any storm.
Sources:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
