Mark J. Misczak, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, was recently featuredin the nationally recognized industry publication, Domestic Preparedness.
His article talked about how to avoid complacency after hurricane season is over.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Puerto Rico and Florida faced punishing hurricanes in the 2022 season and are working hard to recover. Still, hurricane season has been relatively quiet for much of the Gulf coast and Atlantic seaboard. Less active hurricane seasons are a blessing when fewer lives are lost or adversely impacted, and less property is damaged or destroyed. Yet they come with a downside risk: complacency.
States and localities whose preparedness was not tested may fall into the trap of assuming everything they had done to prepare would have adequately mitigated a hurricane’s impact and supported an effective response and recovery. That is an understandable reaction to the closing of a hurricane season with few landfalls. It is also a mistake.
Emergency management professionals must push through any complacency, using the next six months to challenge assumptions and make critical improvements before the next season begins. The best opportunities to do that are pre-disaster mitigation and housing with a focus on sharing priorities, enhancing growth, and addressing equity.
