National Hurricane Survival Initiative

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As 2021 Active Hurricane Season Arrives & Pandemic Eases, Floridians Less Worried – and Less Prepared – for Storms Ahead

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – There’s a flip side to the recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions: Far fewer Floridians say they are prepared for hurricane season than a year ago – yet significantly fewer are concerned about the storm season that officially begins Tuesday, despite projections that it will be another very active six-month storm period. These are among the key findings of a “pre-season” survey by the “Get Ready, Florida!” public education initiative.

One year ago, amid widespread restrictions in the early months of the pandemic, more than 9 in 10 Floridians expressed concerns about at least one aspect of hurricane season – including a large majority (62%) who worried that storms could pile additional strains on first responders. Twelve months later, respondents with at least one concern have fallen from 91% to 73%, and worries about first responders were cut in half, from 62% to 31%.

At the same time, however, the portion of Floridians who say they are better prepared for hurricane season this year has dropped by more than half. A year ago, 51% said they were more prepared than in the past, but now that number has fallen to just 21%. And it’s likely the pandemic had a lot to do with it, as Floridians stocked-up and stored supplies in the early months of the shutdown.

“A year ago, everyone was already hunkered down at home, with as many emergency supplies as they could stock up as a safeguard against COVID-19 shortages,” said Craig Fugate, former FEMA administrator and a consultant to the Get Ready, Florida! Initiative. “With so much reopening now, people seem more interested in getting life back to normal and less focused on hurricane preparation – and that will be a major problem if and when a powerful storm hits.”

The survey of 1,000 Florida voters was conducted May 5-17 for “Get Ready, Florida!,” a long-running statewide public education initiative produced by Sachs Media in cooperation with the nonprofit FAIR Foundation. The initiative serves to help Floridians plan, prepare, and respond to the threat of the annual six-month-long official season of hurricanes and tropical storms.

Among the survey findings:

  • Almost three-quarters (73%) of Floridians report being concerned about at least one aspect of the upcoming hurricane season, down from 91% a year earlier.
  • Despite this increased level of confidence, the portion saying they are more prepared fell significantly, to 21% this year after more than half (51%) said they were prepared one year ago.
  • Asked to identify one or more concerns from a list, respondents voiced concerns over
    • More strains on first responders – 31%, down from 62% last year
    • Business closures or more hits to the economy – 41%, down from 58%
    • Fewer shelters open due to social distancing – 20%, down from 43%
    • Uncertainty over where to safely evacuate – 20%, down from 30%
    • Caring for elderly or special needs relatives – 21%, down from 35%
    • Being able to afford supplies – 25%, down from 30%
  • Fewer Floridians say they are concerned overall about hurricane season. One year ago, 73% said they were “very” or “somewhat” concerned, but now that figure stands at 62%.
  • The number of Floridians saying they are not concerned about this year’s hurricane season grew to 37%, up from 28% last year. The number saying they are “not at all concerned,” though relatively small, doubled from 4% to 8% in one year.
  • Identical portions as last year expressed confidence in the state’s emergency preparedness and response (78%) and knowledge regarding unsafe locations to run a generator (73%).
  • A slightly smaller portion of Floridians said they have put off necessary home repairs due to COVID-19 – 22% this year, down from 25% last year.

“Floridians are excited about the progress against COVID and ready to get back to normal activities, but this is no time to ignore the very real threat that hurricanes pose to our state,” said Jay Neal, CEO of FAIR. “People should be updating their hurricane plans, stock up on supplies, and do everything they can to get ready.”

As Florida is America’s most hurricane-vulnerable state, residents and governments  are advised to plan for expected storms, and also for their aftermath. Leaders in Tallahassee have started to focus on ways to make the state more resilient to the impacts of storms, but the state’s recent history with major storms has underscored the need for local communities and residents to have their own plans for post-disaster recovery. Experts say families should have enough supplies – including food, water, medicine, shelter – to survive on their own for at least three days.

Florida’s Perfect Storm— Extreme Weather and Insurance

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Experts agree in virtual town hall: Link exists between extreme weather and rising costs of homeowner insurance in Florida

 Ft. Lauderdale, FL. — Nationally renowned weather, insurance, and emergency management experts met as a panel on February 24 to address the relationship between extreme weather and the rising cost of homeowner insurance.

In this forum, panelists with national and international expertise in weather, disasters, and insurance spoke their minds and provided unique perspectives regarding the correlation between the rise in extreme weather events, climate change, and the rise in homeowner insurance. They also took questions from attendees. All of the panelists are available now for questions and interviews regarding these topics and recent developments in the Florida Legislature on the issues of climate change, disaster, insurance, and resiliency.

The event was hosted by the FAIR Foundation, a nonprofit organization conceived to create safer, stronger, more resilient communities by educating consumers on the risks of water, wind, and other natural disasters, promoting wind and flood mitigation, and reducing uninsured risk.

Watch the virtual Town Hall

Read the full transcript of the Town Hall

WHO:             

Jay Neal, Esq. President and CEO, FAIR Foundation, Executive Chairman, Federal Association for Insurance Reform

Craig Fugate, Chief Emergency Management Officer, One Concern, and Former FEMA Administrator

Fred O. Karlinsky, Esq., Greenberg Traurig, Co-Chair of Insurance Practice Group

John Morales, Chief Meteorologist, WTVJ NBC-6, Miami, FL

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ABOUT THE PANELISTS:

Jay Neal, President and CEO, FAIR Foundation

Jay Neal is the President and CEO of the FAIR Foundation and Executive Chairman of the Board for the Federal Association for Insurance Reform. He has over 30 years of experience in insurance and finance as a consultant at the CEO and agency principal level. Jay’s career experience includes commercial real estate lending, real estate capital markets, reinsurance, and development of retail insurance products. He focuses on national strategic partnerships, development, and enhancing and strengthening corporate governance. 

Craig Fugate, Emergency Manager

Craig Fugate served as FEMA Administrator from May 2009 to January 2017. Previously, he served as Florida Emergency Management Director from 2001- 2009. Fugate led FEMA through multiple record-breaking disaster years and oversaw the Federal Government’s response to major events such as the Joplin and Moore Tornadoes, Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Matthew, and the 2016 Louisiana flooding. Fugate set a clear and compelling vision, mission, and priorities for FEMA and relentlessly drove the Agency to achieve better outcomes for survivors. FEMA’s effectiveness in dealing with more than 500 Presidentially-declared  major disasters and emergencies under Fugate’s leadership restored the faith of the American people in the Federal Government’s ability to respond to disasters. Prior to his tenure at FEMA, Fugate was widely praised for his management, under Governor Jeb Bush, of the devastating effects of the 2004 and 2005 Florida hurricane seasons (Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis, Katrina, and Wilma). Craig currently provides senior level advice and consultation is the area of disaster management and resiliency policy through Craig Fugate Consulting LLC..

Fred E. Karlinsky, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig

Fred E. Karlinsky is Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group. Fred has nearly 30 years of experience representing the interests of insurers, reinsurers and a wide variety of other insurance-related entities on their regulatory, transactional, corporate and governmental affairs matters. Fred is a recognized authority on national insurance regulatory and compliance issues and has taken a leadership position in many insurance trade organizations, has led many industry-driven legislative and regulatory initiatives, and is a sought after thought leader who has spoken and presented to insurance executives and governmental officials, both nationally and internationally. In addition to his role with Greenberg Traurig, Fred has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Florida State University College of Law since 2008, where he teaches a course on Insurance Law and Risk Management. Fred is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator.

John Morales, Chief Meteorologist, WTVJ NBC-6

John Morales is the longest tenured broadcast meteorologist in South Florida, serving as a reassuring television presence for nearly three decades. His tropical weather acumen and steadfast character guided South Florida viewers through hurricanes Andrew, Irene, Katrina, Wilma, and most recently Hurricane Irma. For his life-saving work during the 2017 season, Mr. Morales was recognized with the John Coleman Broadcast Award at the National Tropical Weather Conference. He has twice been appointed to National Academies of Sciences (NAS) committees, co-authoring studies in 2012 and 2017 pertinent to America’s Weather Enterprise. He also wrote Huracanes, a Spanish-language reference book on hurricanes in 2000.

ABOUT THE FAIR FOUNDATION:

The FAIR Foundation educates and empowers consumers, promotes wind and flood mitigation, and reduces uninsured risk. We enable and promote practical solutions and protections by bringing consumers together with the best and brightest in the industry. For more information, visit the FAIR FOUNDATION

Active, Record-Setting 2020 Hurricane Season Closes

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Preparedness and Recovery Key to Protection for Floridians.

Tallahassee, FL – 2020 will be remembered for making history in the most active Atlantic hurricane season since 2005, when a record-setting 28 storms formed. But that’s history now, as the 2020 season shattered the mark and now holds the record for the most named storms in a season at 30. This year’s storm season, which started early when Tropical Storm Arthur formed on May 16, officially ends today as the most active since official record keeping began in 1851.

Despite the many challenges posed by the global pandemic, Floridians largely escaped the full fury of hurricane season thanks to the preparations of emergency managers, the attentiveness of residents – and a measure of luck. Four of the storms touched Florida, but only one – Hurricane Eta earlier this month – made direct landfall in the state.

Twelve storms made landfall in the continental United States, a number of them targeting our neighbors to the west in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The 2020 hurricane season also brought more devastation from the storms and longer-lasting effects than in recent years. And because additional storms are possible even though the calendar says hurricane season is ending, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center will continuously monitor the tropics for storm development and activity.

“Like most things in 2020, this hurricane season was truly one for the record books,” said Craig Fugate, former Federal Emergency Management Administrator. “Thankfully, we now have an advanced lead time that emergency managers need to evacuate vulnerable areas and stage resources ahead of landfalling storms so we can help people withstand the worst impacts of wind and water.”

Paul Handerhan, a spokesman for Florida’s FAIR Foundation, said preparedness efforts among federal, state, and local emergency managers, and community groups helped protect lives and property. The FAIR Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to creating safer, stronger, and more resilient communities in the face of natural disasters. Even though 13 of the storms became hurricanes – including six major hurricanes with winds topping 111 mph – the continental U.S. was largely spared the devastation experienced in Central America and elsewhere. 

“The 2020 hurricane season caused at least $14 billion in damages in the U.S., and Florida alone has over a million homes that are vulnerable to storm surge but are uninsured for flood risk,” said Handerhan. “It’s critical that Floridians access affordable private flood insurance to properly insure their properties and narrow the insurance protection gap so they can get their lives back without the lingering impacts of financial devastation.”

This historic season saw record water levels in several locations, including along the Gulf Coast – soaked by Hurricane Sally, Pensacola experienced its highest observed water levels since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But taken together, the collective U.S. damage caused by all the storms this season likely won’t come close to matching those of individual catastrophic storms that caused massive destruction in highly populated areas such as Katrina in 2005, Sandy in 2012, and Michael in 2018.

This is the fifth consecutive year with an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, in keeping with a pattern that has seen 18 above-average seasons out of the past 26. Preparedness for this increasing number and intensity of storms by Floridians is a key factor also cited by Brittany Perkins Castillo, CEO of AshBritt Environmental, a rapid-response disaster recovery and environmental services company. 

“We see the physical and emotional toll these storms have on entire communities long after the actual storm has passed,” Perkins Castillo said. “Our goal is to get families and communities back on their feet as quickly as possible. Every year carries the potential to be another record-breaker, and that’s why it’s so important that as part of annual hurricane planning, Floridians have to make it a priority to check in with their insurance providers ahead of time to review coverage and insurance plans.”

Necessary Sense of Urgency Required for This 2020 Record-Setting Atlantic Hurricane Season

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Floridians concerned about paying a large deductible in the event of a disaster

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As Florida enters what is generally considered the most active and dangerous period of hurricane season, a new survey finds many residents have significant concerns about the potential impact of storms to disrupt their communities and lives. More than 1 in 4 Floridians have faced challenges with tree and debris removal following a storm, and more than two-thirds would like their local governments to plan ahead and line up debris removal services in advance so life can return to normal as quickly as possible following a disaster. 

Those are some of the data points in the new survey conducted August 31-September 2 by “Get Ready, Florida!” – a long-running statewide public education initiative produced by the nonprofit FAIR Foundation. It serves to help Floridians plan, prepare, and respond to the threat of the annual six-month-long “mean season” of hurricanes and tropical storms.

The survey also revealed Floridians’ concerns about having adequate insurance coverage. The average hurricane deductible in Florida is $5,000, an amount that more than two-thirds of Floridians (68%) say they would find it difficult to pay. In addition, 1 in 6 Florida policyholders mistakenly believe their hurricane insurance would handle tree and debris removal from their yards – but it won’t. As those services are not covered in most policies, almost one-third of Floridians say they would be willing to pay something extra each month in order to have their policies cover these services. 

“In the most hurricane-vulnerable state in the nation, millions of Floridians roll the dice by going without adequate insurance to help them through the ordeal,” said Jay Neal, president of the FAIR Foundation and a key partner in the survival initiative. “This survey shows that while many Floridians lack a clear understanding of what their insurance policy covers, they recognize the wisdom of having their cities and counties prepared to clean up the mess after a storm.”

The survey found that more than two-thirds of respondents (68%) would support their city or county acting before a disaster strikes to invest tax dollars in advance for contracted cleanup services, if and when needed, in order to ensure that resources are available to deploy immediately to clear massive debris and help a return to normal. Rather than wait in line for help to come, this would mean contracting with a disaster recovery or debris removal business in advance – to be treated as a priority, by providers with the resources and expertise to do the job quickly and efficiently. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, many communities in impact zones have adopted this practice.

“As increasingly powerful storms leave even bigger cleanup challenges, more and more local governments are recognizing that they can’t do it all themselves. By engaging the services of disaster response companies, local governments can then concentrate on their communities’ other immediate needs,” said Brittany Perkins Castillo, CEO of Deerfield Beach-based AshBritt Environmental, a nationally renowned rapid-response disaster recovery leading contractor.

Among the other key findings of the survey of 1,582 Florida voters:

  • Most homeowner insurance policies carry separate, higher deductibles for hurricane damage. Among Florida homeowners, more than two-thirds (68%) would find paying a $5,000 hurricane deductible to be challenging at this time. 
  • More than 3 in 5 Floridians with homeowners’ or renters’ insurance (62%) are unsure what their policies cover following a storm.
  • Despite the fact that most hurricane policies do not cover tree and debris removal from yards, 16% of Florida policyholders believe this benefit is included in their policy.
  • More than 1 in 4 Floridians (27%) say they’ve experienced problems relating to yard debris or fallen trees following a storm. This includes 19% who say they have been blocked from their home or driveway, 11% who say they were stuck with large bills for debris removal, and 4% who say that they or a member of their household have been injured trying to remove debris out of the way.
  • About one-third of Floridians (31%) say they would be willing to pay something extra each month in order for their policy to cover things like tree and debris removal or replacement of spoiled food.

“One of the great challenges Florida faces is that it adds enough people each year to fill an entire city, and those newcomers – and many who have lived here for years – don’t really know what they have and what they need when it comes to hurricane insurance,” said Craig Fugate, a Florida native who served as the top administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “Flooding is not covered by your homeowners insurance and requires a flood policy for protection, and flood risk is growing due to more extreme rainfall events during hurricane threats. It’s a good idea for everyone to check their insurance policies now, add flood coverage, and for local governments to get themselves as prepared as they can.”

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The FAIR Foundation was conceived to create safer, stronger, and more resilient communities by educating consumers on the risks of water, wind, and other natural disasters, promoting wind and flood mitigation, and reducing uninsured risk. The Foundation works tirelessly with its team of corporate and individual sponsors to empower property owners to prevent avoidable losses before, during, and after catastrophic events. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the FAIR Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Foundation’s work enables and promotes practical solutions and protections by bringing consumers together with the best and brightest in industry and academia. Follow the FAIR Foundation online at FAIRFound.org, on Facebook (facebook.com/FAIRwatch), Twitter (@FAIRwatch), or LinkedIn.

Get Ready, Florida! is the comprehensive vehicle to make hurricane safety a year-round culture in Florida. This partnership is an ongoing effort to spur awareness, involvement, and action by millions of Floridians to take personal and collective responsibility for being prepared before, during, and after hurricane season. This initiative will serve as a bold model for disaster preparation amid a historic era of major storm activity, prompting the need for an aggressive approach to education and motivating the public. Lives will be protected and saved, and property better able to face the ravages of subsequent hurricane seasons, as a result of this critical initiative.

AshBritt Environmental is a national leader in disaster response. Now in its 28th year, AshBritt is a national turn-key rapid-response disaster recovery and environmental services contractor and has conducted more than 400 disaster response missions and 30 special environmental projects, successfully serving more than 600 clients. It has been directly involved in the recovery efforts of more than 60 federally declared disasters in 20 states. AshBritt has been a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for 20 years, including as prime contractor for the South Atlantic Division (AL, FL, GA, SC, NC) and the South Pacific Division (AZ, CA, NV, UT, NM).

Unchartered territory: when preparing for hurricanes, factor in COVID-19

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By Kent Koptiuch
Natural Resource Manager
Nestlé Waters North America

This year, our society has ventured into uncharted territory. Once again, we must all prepare for hurricane season, but this time we do so while faced with a full-scale global pandemic.

As a professional in the business of supplying water to others for healthy hydration, I have witnessed how the threat of COVID-19 changes the ways that families must prepare for, and respond to, hurricanes this season.

As we all assemble our hurricane kits, it’s critical that we include some key additional items for dealing with potential exposure to the coronavirus, whether our plan is to take shelter elsewhere or to shelter in place.

In addition to our typical inventory of non-perishable foods, water, flashlights, medical supplies, pet supplies, and battery-powered emergency radio, our hurricane kits should also be stocked with supplies for protecting our family members from the pandemic.

This should include hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and at least two cloth masks per person.

Jared Moskowitz, management director for Florida’s Division of Emergency, now recommends that families stock a fourteen-day supply of necessary medicines, along with a seven-day cache of food, water, and other critical supplies for each family member.

Keep everything in a portable cooler or waterproof tote that’s easy to grab on short notice. Every person in your family needs one gallon of water per person per day for every day of the week.

You should also keep water purification tablets on hand and consider having portable devices like water bottles or plastic pitchers that come with filtration systems to ensure access to clean, potable drinking water.

Finally, we can extend the life of our fresh and frozen food supplies, while simultaneously increasing our water supply by freezing plastic containers filled with water. If the power goes out, this ice will keep food in the freezer, refrigerator, and coolers from spoiling for longer periods.

When the ice does melt, it becomes water for drinking and washing. Download hurricane safety checklists at hurricanesafety.org/prepare/hurricane-safety-checklists/ for more information.

It has been a rough start to the year for all of us. There’s an old proverb that states, “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” The importance of hoping for the best but preparing for the worst cannot be overstated.

By taking the time now to plan ahead, we can more ably ride out, not only the lurking danger from hurricanes but also COVID-19. Be safe and healthy, everyone.