2020 was a historic year. While thoughts immediately turn to COVID-19, more danger was in the air than any facemask or PPE could possibly contain. 2020 is notable for being the most active hurricane season on record. 30 total named storms rattled the Atlantic basin, including three that blew in before the official start of the season on June 1st. And unfortunately, data is alerting forecasters and weather experts that this trend is not ending anytime soon. Attributable to rising sea temperatures, the number of named storms and category 3 hurricanes or stronger have steadily grown year to year over the last three decades. Shattering the previous record of 28 named storms during 2005’s active season, there is real concern about emergency and incident management preparedness in this future of increasing weather events. With the amount of these events compounding and the over-development of coastlines, utilities have done a great job keeping up with restoration efforts, but there are still three emergency and incident management efforts that the industry is looking to master:
- Calling up of ICS or other emergency management protocols
- Assigning and accounting for crews, contractors, and mutual assistance providers
- Post-event reporting for storm-cost recovery and FEMA reimbursement
