30 Days!

Today is May 1.  Hurricane season is just a short 30 days away.  Our friends at Colorado State University, who have been making hurricane predictions for 30 years, suggest that the 2013 Atlantic season will be above average with 18 named storms.  Their report indicates that nine of these storms will reach hurricane status and that four of these will become major hurricanes.

It is not too late to make plans and design programs and protective measures to safeguard people and property.  For government agencies, you can work closely with your jurisdiction's Emergency Management Agency (EMA) to build capability to monitor storms, support overall response and recovery efforts, and to build capacity to protect your agency's operations, people, and assets. Similarly, businesses can work with their EMA to support response efforts.  Many EMAs are now integrating businesses into emergency responses through Business Emergency Operations Centers or simply by having businesses represented on planning councils and in the Emergency Operations Center during a crisis.  Businesses should focus on protective measures for their workforce and material assets and resiliency through business continuity strategies.

Storms repeatedly demonstrate the destruction they can bring.  Spending some time now to prepare and make plans can help reduce risk to people and property.

Steven Kuhr
Emergency Management Nexus
skuhr.blogspot.com