Get Ready, Florida

Active, Record-Setting 2020 Hurricane Season Closes

November 30, 2020 by NHSI

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

September 14, 2020 by NHSI

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

July 24, 2020 by NHSI

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.

Hurricane 2019: Get your documents and your data ready for a storm

June 4, 2019 by NHSI

As hurricane season begins, make an effort to implement a “set it and forget it” approach by preparing your physical and digital property ahead of time.

Missing Roof and Walls of Apartment on Gulf Coast in the Aftermath of Hurricane Michael

Preparing your property, papers and photos for a hurricane should start long before an approaching storm’s so-called “cone of uncertainty” falls upon the Tampa Bay area.

Implement a “set it and forget it” approach to this storm season by preparing your property — your home, your business and your most important documents and photos — ahead of time.

You may not have time to do all that as a storm approaches and handle other critical tasks, such as assembling food and water supplies. The following are some basic rules, and specific information that can be found online using resources such as the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (www.flash.org) or the National Hurricane Survival Initiative (hurricanesafety.org.)

Protect your home

Seal it: Make sure all of your windows and doors are tightly sealed to keep wind and water out. This will help keep your possessions safe. But if you’ve been taping your windows all this time, experts say, that’s not doing much to protect them. Skip this step in favor of installing heavy hurricane shutters or boarding up windows with plywood that is at least five-eighths of an inch thick. Google the best way to install plywood for your particular house. If you do lose a window, you’ll need more plywood and some tarps to keep it covered until it’s fixed.

Fix your roof: Got a leak? It’s going to get worse. If you’re having issues with your roof, have it inspected to ensure it will not let water into your home and that there are no serious structural issues before a storm arrives. If something goes wrong, you’re going to need even more plastic tarps on hand to keep the roof covered until it gets fixed.

Disarmament: Remove anything from your yard that strong wind gusts could turn into an airborne weapon. That includes lawn decorations, furniture, planters and anything that isn’t tied or bolted down.

Reinforcements: The most vulnerable part of your home might be the garage door, depending on how old it is. A garage door that fails during the storm will leave the house and roof far more vulnerable to wind and rain damage than a broken window. Kits and products for bracing and reinforcing garage doors are sold at home improvement stores.

Protect your business

All of the advice for your home goes for your business, too. Check the structure’s roof, board up windows, bring everything inside and make any necessary repairs.

Needs a trim: Cut away any branches from nearby trees that may impact your business’ office during a hurricane. That goes for any unhealthy or rotting trees, too.

Power down: Turn off utilities, such as electricity, before a storm hits to help prevent surges after power is restored. Don’t forget about large appliances, such as the break room fridge (clean it out before you turn the power off, too; in fact, just clean it out).

Information security: Crucial documents that have not been backed up on hard drives and the cloud should be placed in waterproof containers. If the building is in an endangered area, or you’ll need to access them right after a storm, consider moving them to a safer, more accessible location.

Road trip: Make sure you have the equipment, documents, information and passwords you may need to run the business remotely after a storm.

Protect your documents, photos

Make a checklist of all your important documents and photos and consider storing physical copies in another location.

One word, plastics: Store your important documents and photos in a waterproof container or bag to protect them from being ruined by rain or flooding. It could be a waterproof lockbox or just a binder with plastic sleeves.

Card game: Don’t forget to gather, organize and store important items such as your driver’s license, passport, insurance information, medical documents, financial records, checkbooks, birth certificates and Social Security cards. You’ll want to bring cash along, too, because ATMs and credit cards may not function after a storm.

Portability: If you have to evacuate, make sure to take physical and digital (or both) copies of important documents, photos and records that you cannot do without, just in case you’re cut off from home for a period of time.

Self-preservation: The same steps should be taken to protect irreplaceable family photos. But it’s 2019, are you on the cloud yet? Digital photos and scanned PDF of documents can be stored on hard drives and using cloud services such as Apple’s iCloud, DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft’s OneDrive, or Amazon Cloud Drive. Some services offer free storage space, so why not save multiple copies of your stuff?

Contact Malena Carollo at [email protected] or (727) 892-2249. Follow @malenacarollo.

Mythbusters: Flooding and Flood Insurance Edition

March 8, 2019 by NHSI

There are plenty of misconceptions about flooding, especially when it comes to hurricanes and insurance. Water damage can cause extreme harm to your home and belongings. While it may not be possible to completely ensure that the contents of your home remain safe and dry, there are ways to be prepared for some of the serious consequences of a hurricane. Here are some myths about flooding and flood insurance, along with the facts – so you can arrange the best post-hurricane plan for yourself and your home.

I’m more concerned about the wind, which I’m sure will cause more damage to my home than water.

Though hurricanes can have dangerous high-intensity winds, more damage can actually be caused by the water accompanying these, especially storm surge. This is when large rushes of water get pushed on shore by the hurricane, wiping out whatever stands in its way.

A 2014 study by Edward Rappaport, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, gathered data on hundreds of Atlantic tropical cyclones between 1963 and 2012. Over the span of those 50 years, half the fatalities (49%) were directly attributed to storm surges. This includes 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, in which storm surge was the primary cause of death. The Insurance Information Institute ranks Florida as the #1 state at risk from storm surge, for both the number of homes and the reconstruction value. Storm surge poses a threat to both lives and bank accounts, so in order to be fully prepared, you need to be aware of its damage potential.

NOAA Storm Surge PSA from Jim Edds on Vimeo.

My home isn’t near the coast or in a flood zone, so there’s no threat of flooding.

Heavy rain from a hurricane can cause major flooding, regardless of where flood zones appear on a map. The Weather Channel notes that rainfall depends on the storm’s speed and size, and heavy rain bands can reach far beyond the coast. According to FEMA, 20% of all flood insurance claims come from areas outside the high-risk flood zones – and over half the claims from Hurricane Harvey in 2017 came from outside of flood zones.

Since I already have homeowners’ insurance, I don’t need flood insurance.

Contrary to unfortunately popular belief, most homeowners’ policies do not cover flood damage. The same goes for renters, who must also purchase flood protection separately. Of the 10 most costly hurricanes in the United States, Florida was affected by seven. According to FEMA, a single inch of flood water in an average home can cost over $20,000 – the same as the average yearly cost of out-of-state public universities. And that doesn’t even factor in personal property losses that are sure to boost the number up.

If a hurricane is heading my way, I can just purchase a policy before the storm hits so that I’m still covered.

Your purchase of flood insurance doesn’t mean coverage will start right away, as most policies have a 30-day waiting period. This is one of many aspects of hurricane planning that is only effective if prepared well in advance of hurricane season. Be sure to leave yourself sufficient time to communicate with your insurance provider and pick a policy that works best for you. Don’t put it off, or you’ll find yourself deeply regretting the delay when you’re forced to pay for water damage out of pocket.

My house has flooded, so to file a claim I’ll have to leave my home the way it is until an assessment is done.

FedNat, which has been providing Floridians with various types of insurance for 25 years, says otherwise. Once the storm has passed, you should file a claim as soon as possible. FedNat will send a contractor at no charge or obligation if emergency services are required, including water extraction. Additional crucial actions include drying out your home and photographing damaged property, which should not be discarded until the adjuster is able to examine it. FedNat also provides resources on hurricane preparation and encourages using an inventory worksheet and checklist.