Category Archives: Hurricanes

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Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Releases Recommendations

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Hurricane Sandy damage to New Jersey boardwalk

President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force released their findings yesterday, sharing 69 recommendations to repair existing damage and strengthen infrastructure ahead of future natural disasters.

The task force encouraged an emphasis on new construction over simple repair, citing the impact of climate change on severe weather events.

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“More than ever, it is critical that when we build for the future, we do so in a way that makes communities more resilient to emerging challenges such as rising sea levels, extreme heat, and more frequent and intense storms,” the report said. Construction designed for increasingly dangerous storms, infrastructure strengthened to prevent power failure and fuel shortage, and a cellular service system that can subsist during disasters are all critical investments to prevent future loss.

Recommendations included streamlining federal agencies’ review processes for reconstruction projects, revising federal mortgage policies so homeowners can get insurance checks faster, and making greater use of natural barriers like wetlands and sand dunes.

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The team also said that planners need better tools to evaluate and quantify long-term benefits of future projects along the shoreline, but did not detail what would be best ecologically and economically.

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According to USA Today, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Sandy task force report shows that “we have much work to do hardening our energy, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure,” and that “the federal government must be a proactive partner with local governments and the private sector.”

Some of the task force’s suggestions have already been put into place. As the AP reported, this includes the creation of new Federal Flood Reduction Standard for infrastructure projects built with government funds and promotion of the Sea Level Rise Tool, which will help builders and engineers predict where flooding might occur in the future.

The government has closed over 99.5% of over 143,000 National Flood Insurance Program claims related to Hurricane Sandy and paid out more than $7.8 billion to policyholders, according to the task force report. The federal government should support local efforts to mitigate future risk by funding local disaster recovery manager positions and encouraging homeowners to take steps to reduce the risk of future damage, which will also make rising flood insurance premiums more affordable, the report said.

The team has also launched Rebuild by Design, “a competition that will attract world-class talent to develop actionable plans that will make the Sandy-impacted region more resilient.”

2013 Hurricane Season: Active Storms Ahead

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Saturday, June 1, marks the beginning of the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. Forecasters from Colorado State University predict 18 named storms for the 2013 season, with nine of those forecasted to become hurricanes and four expected to be major hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center warns there could be even more storms to hit the Sunshine State — up to 20, in fact, compared to the average of 12. If these and other predictions are right, Florida will see its share of storms this season.

But Floridians are not oblivious to these stats. As the the June issue of Risk Management states:

Regardless of the predictions, many Floridians were already expecting to be hit. The state that is geographically most vulnerable to Atlantic storms and has the longest coastline among the lower 48 (1,350 miles) has been spared each of the past seven years. Hurricane Wilma, one of seven major hurricanes that made landfall in the United States during the historic 2005 season (the year of Katrina), was the last storm to punish Florida.

With 2013’s predictions being far worse than those of 2012, businesses should begin preparing now. According to the Insurance Information Institute, 15 to 40% of businesses fail following a natural disaster.

Of those businesses that recover, on average, it takes about 11.5 days for them to become fully operational. This is a recipe for serious revenue and customer loss.

Bob Boyd, president and CEO of Agility Recovery, a provider of business continuity and disaster recovery solutions, provides the following advice for businesses in the path of hurricanes (or any natural disaster, for that matter).

Before the Storm

  • Ensure you have tested and activated your crisis communications plan prior to the storm’s approach. Even if the storm isn’t on a direct path to your location, activating this part of your plan will ensure reliable communications with your stakeholders.
  • Backup all data on servers and personal computers, and ensure you are able to remotely access and restore the data to an alternate site without delay.
  • Move vital records, equipment, supplies and inventory to a safe or fortified location.

    Postpone any future deliveries or shipments until the storm passes and transportation routes are passable.

  • Fill fuel tanks of generators and all company‐owned vehicles, and ensure employees are familiar with your emergency transportation plan for critical staff. Plan ahead for interruptions including curfews, law enforcement roadblocks, mass transit shut-downs, and impassable roads and bridges.
  • Enable remote access to your company’s website and social media channels to ensure constant communication with stakeholders. Contact the media ahead of time to make sure they know how to reach your leadership and spokespersons.

During the Storm

  • Ensure employees are away from wind and flood hazards and know the company policy regarding inclement weather. Take into account the fact that coastal flooding and storm surge are the most destructive and deadly forces during a hurricane.
  • Establish teams working on a 24-hour schedule to monitor any equipment that must consistently remain on line.
  • Preemptively shut off any unnecessary electrical switches to prevent surges or electrical shorts and accidents before the necessary checks are completed post-landfall.

After the Storm

  • Watch and listen to local news and online media channels for damage reports, transportation outages, lingering flooded areas and other potential dangers prior to assessing your facilities.
  • Establish and follow company policies for limiting access to your facilities until the area has been declared officially safe by local law enforcement, inspectors or company officials.
  • Begin contacting employees, suppliers, critical partners and other stakeholders to ensure their safety and ability to return to work.
  • Begin salvage as soon as possible to prevent further damage to facilities, inventory and assets. Begin work to restore any critical business functions that have been interrupted by the storm.

As we saw with the last two major hurricanes (Katrina and Sandy), preparation is paramount. In the New York area, Governor Cuomo marked this past week as Hurricane Preparedness Week — asking the state’s residents to review their preparations for the upcoming season. With 2013 predictions well above the seasonal average, this is advice every Atlantic coastal state should take seriously.

Another Active Hurricane Season Expected in 2013

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With the start of the Atlantic hurricane season only two weeks away, experts across the board are predicting another active season.

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Today, AccuWeather.com released its findings calling for 16 named tropical storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes. They expect three hurricanes to make landfall in the United States. These numbers are all slight increases over the average numbers recorded by NOAA from 1981-2010 and are comparable to last year’s activity.

According to AccuWeather, the season should begin quickly after June 1, but isn’t anticipated to start as early as 2012 when two named storms appeared in May. However, 2013 could see stronger storms than last year due to the reduced amount of Saharan dust in the air, which can inhibit a storm’s severity.

In the May issue of Risk Management, Jared Wade wrote about how Floridians feel like they’re overdue for a hurricane having not experienced a landfall since Wilma in 2005. In addition to echoing that concern, AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said that one of the biggest fears regarding the upcoming hurricane season is the effect another major storm would have on the East Coast regions that still haven’t entirely recovered from Superstorm Sandy. Many areas still haven’t rebuilt the protective sand dune barriers that were washed away by Sandy, so another storm would put already reeling communities at an even higher risk for more flood damage.

Overall, AccuWeather’s numbers have been in line with forecasts by other organizations, suggesting that an active season, at least to experts, is almost certain (or at least as certain as any weather forecast can be).

For instance, the United Kingdom’s Met Office expects 14 named storms, nine hurricanes, while in April, Colorado State University’s Philip Klotzbach and William Gray predicted 18 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes, and Weather Services International forecasted 16 named storms, nine hurricanes, and five major hurricanes.

The Largest Natural Hazard Risks of 2012

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2012 was a year of natural catastrophes. From Hurricane Sandy to the record-setting drought to the third most destructive wildfire season on record, the year was fraught with disasters that took a toll not only on communities nationwide, but on some of the world’s largest insurers. Today, CoreLogic issued its annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary, which details the most significant natural disasters that struck the United States in 2012. It notes the following:

Hurricanes

  • The single most destructive natural disaster in 2012 was Hurricane Sandy. In late October, the Category 1 storm generated record levels of storm surge along the northern New Jersey coast and in the New York City area, impacting more than five million residents across the region.
  • The first hurricane to make landfall in the U.
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    S. in 2012 was Category 1 Hurricane Isaac in late August, which caused an estimated $2 billion in insured losses around the New Orleans metro area.

Floods

  • Flood losses are expected to total approximately $10 billion in 2012, which would result in the third consecutive year of increasing flood damage in the U.S.
  • Earlier in the year, Tropical Storm Debby tracked slowly across the Florida peninsula in June, dropping at least 25 inches of rainfall along its path.
  • After months of sustained, widespread drought, Hurricane Isaac brought heavy rainfall and flooding to Louisiana in late August before continuing northward into the Midwest.
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Wildfires

  • The 2012 wildfire season was the third most destructive on record in the U.S. in terms of total acres burned as of early December.
  • The 15-year trend of fewer, but larger fires continued into 2012 with fewer than 51,000 individual wildfires across the country—the lowest number recorded since 1989.
  • Several of the individual fires that occurred in 2012 set records, including Colorado’s Waldo Canyon Fire, which damaged or destroyed 346 homes, and New Mexico’s Whitewater-Baldy Fire, which burned more than 297,000 acres.
  • NOAA continues to predict a pattern of drought conditions through the start of 2013, suggesting the potential for another increase in wildfire risk across much of the country. In the chart below, “SL” stands for short-term drought (typically less than six months) and “L” stands for long-term drought (typically more than six months).

Tornadoes

  • Tornado activity in 2012 was not strictly limited to the region commonly referred to as “Tornado Alley.” States located outside the central and southern Great Plains experienced a significant number of tornadoes this year. The chart below, from CoreLogic’s report, represents states with 30 or more tornadoes in 2012. States in orange are not typically considered part of “Tornado Alley.”
  • January 2012 was one of the most active Januaries since recording began in 1950, with a total of 79 tornadoes reported across the country.
  • In late February, tornadoes struck Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Harrisburg, Ill., experienced the most concentrated destruction, with more than 225 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed and an estimated $475 million in total damage.

“Because the strength, severity and geographic impact of natural disaster events will change from year to year, an understanding of patterns in hazard activity, geographic vulnerabilities and the properties exposed to each different type of disaster is crucial to managing risk,” said Dr. Thomas Jeffery, senior hazard scientist for CoreLogic.

As we’ve seen with the natural catastrophes of 2012, it is important for insurers, homeowners and businesses to develop a more comprehensive evaluation of risk — one that includes typically non-traditional locations.

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