Although the report cited is not new, it is worth taking a look at this posting by Eric Holdeman re State Ratings.
The Diva is pleased to see that her home state, Virginia, is at the top of the list.
State Ratings for Hurricane Preparedness
1
Category Archives: Hurricane
Personal Preparedness for Hurricanes
Posting from Guest Blogger, AJ Early
As the start of hurricane season approaches, here is some advice for personal preparedness measures. See: What to do Before, During, and After a Hurricane.
______________________________________________________________
AJ Earley is a personal chef, freelance writer, travel junkie, and root beer float enthusiast currently living in Boise, Idaho. You can reach her at ajearley17@gmail.com
“The National Strike Force”
The current issue of the Coast Guard’s Journal of Safety and Security at Sea. Proceedings of the Marine Safety and Security Council features articles on the National Strike Force, but there are a host of other great articles on related topics in the issue. For a free copy (and a free subscription) of the Proceedings click here.
The Proceedings is a nice, slick-paper magazine issued quarterly. The current issue is 98 pages long. Definitely a “keeper” for your library.
“Forget Sandy, Worst is Yet to Come”
The article titled Forget Sandy, the Worst Is Yet to Come is a news account of a Swiss Re Insurance Co. report. Some excerpts:
The chilling insurance company report * * * cautions that Hurricane Sandy was nothing more than a harsh reminder that more powerful storms – like the 156-mph Norfolk-Long Island Hurricane of 1821 – await the Jersey Shore.
Hurricane Sandy was mild compared to the 1821 Hurricane
Such a storm today as the 1821 Norfolk-Long Island Hurricane could swamp Atlantic City under a 15- to 25-foot storm surge, according to “The Big One: The East Coast’s 100 billion Hurricane Event,” produced by Swiss Re American Holding Corp.
The report breaks down the potential impact of another 1821 Hurricane in South Jersey’s Atlantic and Cape May counties a well as across the Southeast, Middle Atlantic and Northeast states. The outlook isn’t good, according to Swiss Re, the world’s second-largest insurance company.
Here is the direct link to the Swiss Re report, which is titled The big one: The East Coast’s USD 100 billion event. This 21 page publication draws on history to paint a scenario that will help plan for the future.
Update: the Washington Post wrote this article on Oct. 2 about the Swiss Re report.
Retrospective on Hurricane Camille
‘Camille Was No Lady:’ 45 Years Ago, the Hurricane Changed Mississippi. Hurricane Camille wiped away landmarks, killed 141 people along the Coast and caused more than $1 billion in damage.
Hurricane Season Start June 1 – get your supplies now
Each year, many states encourage citizen preparedness by declaring a sales tax holiday for many essential items. Here is one example: VA Hurricane Preparedness Week – sales taxes on some essential items are waived. See details on the State Emergency Agency’s website.
If you are not a Virginian, check with your local office of emergency management to see if your state has a version of this effort. A Google search turned up a similar program in LA.
_______________________________
FEMA offers extensive guidance re hurricanes on this website.
Huge Typhoon in Asia – 195 mph winds!
It is 
actually beyond my imagination to comprehend the high risk and high impact of the typhoon now in the Philippines and headed for Asian mainland.
Winds were estimated at 195 mph with gusts possible reaching 235 mph. See more details at: Monster Storm Roars into Philippines.
Updates:
- According to CNN on Sat. the 9th: Typhoon hits with 3.5 times the force of Katrina.
On Nov. 10, CNN is saying death toll may be 10,000 or more.
Hurricane Season Is Here – who is at risk?
From CBS news an article titled Hurricane Season Starts, FL and NY most at risk. Some excerpts:
Batten down the hatches: In the wake of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s prediction that 2013 will be an “active or extremely active” hurricane season, a new report finds that more than 4.2 million American homes are at risk of storm-surge damage – with Florida and New York leading the pack. That includes about 1 million U.S. homes in “high risk” areas.
The report, from CoreLogic, looked at the risk to single-family homes from storm surges – water being pushed onto land, usually due to the impact of a major storm. NOAA predicts that there is a 70 percent chance there will be 13-20 “named storms” in the Atlantic in the 2013 season, which officially kicks off Saturday.
That includes seven to 11 storms that could become hurricanes and three to six that could become major hurricanes, with winds of 111 miles per hour or higher. The prediction meets or exceeds the seasonal average of 12 named storms and three major hurricanes per year.
Florida homeowners face the greatest risk from a storm surge. Nearly 1.5 million homes in the state are at risk for damage from a surge, including more than 618,000 that are at extreme or very high risk. Louisiana has the second most at-risk homes, with 411,000, followed by Texas (369,000), New Jersey (351,000) and Virginia (329,000). Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
______________________________________
Update on June 3: FEMA Director Craig Fugate gave this advice to residents of FL:
Craig Fugate has one overriding message for all Florida residents, now that the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is underway: “The price of living in paradise is to get prepared and quit using excuses.”
“Complacency is just a dumb excuse people use to say I’m not worried, I’m not going to get ready,” the chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.
Related articles
- Hurricane Season Could Be Exceptionally Bad This Year (huffingtonpost.com)
- NOAA Predicts High Activity during 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season (prweb.com)
- Hurricane Forecasting; Storm Surges; Sports + Politics (wnyc.org)
- CoreLogic: 4.2 million homes in path of hurricane storm-surge (Housing Wire)
2013 Hurricane Season Expected to Be Above Average
See this article re the new forecast for Atlantic coast Hurricanes in 2013, from the hurricane experts at the Colorado State University. The Colorado forecasting team predicts 18 tropical storms in 2013, of which nine will be hurricanes.
It seems this is the first of 3 reports on the topic to be issued. For the full text (34 page) of the report, go to this CO State website.
Related articles
- ‘Enhanced activity’ for 2013 hurricane season (antiguaobserver.com)
- Hurricane forecast: Above-average Atlantic season (usatoday.com)
- Above-Average 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted (nbcmiami.com)
Hurricane Isaac May Repeat Path of H. Katrina
The news from CNN this morning is eerie indeed. See : Eerie similarites: Isaac follows track of Katrina, evacuations ordered for coast. (August 27) . If H. Isaac does in fact follow the path of H. Katrina 7 years later, it will be very interesting to EM researchers to see just how many lessons were in fact learned.
Recovery Diva 