Unprecedented Weather: Preparing the Emergency Management Community

     
This morning, I was enjoying the relaxing ritual of my morning tea, and I opened TikTok to casually peruse. I almost wish I hadn’t. The relaxed mood evaporated as I watched the news report of a Polar Vortex creeping our way, to impact the US in the beginning of January. In Texas, we all will keep a wary eye while recollecting the disastrous freeze of 2021. In recent years there has been such a rapid rise of unpredictable weather! Increased frequency, duration, size, and new locations developing new events all come to mind. Speaking of the winter storm Uri that hit Texas in 2021, it illuminated core infrastructure problems. Unlike Michigan, our pipes are not buried deep, our roads are not salted, and our power grid was not prepared. Like a line of dominos, first our power grid fell, then gas stations were emptied of their reserves, pipes burst in homes, apartments, and businesses across the city, all the while first responders struggled on the frozen unsalted roads to reach the citizens in need. I myself am from Michigan, so I know a thing or two about deep cold. What I had not experienced until that storm, was facing deep cold unprepared.

Devastating Hurricanes have ramped up as well. Helene leveling states and erasing cities that have never seen an in-land effect so powerful. Here in Houston we’ve had our go-rounds, Harvey being our biggest. In Harvey and Helene, the dams broke one after another, and any thought of escape was immediately under water. Hurricane Beryl in 2024 was the earliest Cat 5 on record and the strongest July Atlantic hurricane- causing extensive damage in the Caribbeans. Hurricane Milton followed shortly after in October. We all held our breath, as the entire state facilitated evacuations as best they could. We prayed with the people that couldn’t evacuate, as news reporters showed us how high the water was going to flood. Our prayers must have worked, because through the night the storm weakened slightly.

Globally, we’ve seen flooding like we’ve never seen before- the streets of Spain and towns of Poland awash in a torrent. To the average citizen, this more than alarming. Like a kettle on the stove- all of us intently watching the percolation.

What does this uptick mean to emergency management professionals, and their counterparts tasked with emergency plan management in the Senior Assisted Living industry?

For one, it has increased the complexity of emergency planning. We have to anticipate and plan for a broader range of scenarios. Plans must account for overlapping disasters (the falling dominos). Which complicate logistics and resource allocation.

Second, we have seen a greater demand for resources. Higher demands for food, water, medical supplies, and shelter. Those preparing must plan for prolonged periods, we must anticipate longer turnaround for supplies.

Stress on infrastructure being one of the dominos, emergency planners must now add backup power solutions to ensure accessibility to critical services, especially for populations with heightened needs.

Hence, we have a strong emphasis on proactive preparedness. Budgets of the old days must be revised. Stockpiling of supplies that will not spoil, updating training and written plans. Conducting regular drills with staff of the revised written plans- are no longer optional but essential steps for community success.

While the gloom and doom of ominous storms can dampen our spirits, with effective planning we can safeguard our most vulnerable, weather any storm, and emerge stronger as a community.

We would love to hear from you! Please leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Take care, 
Lisa