Grim forecasts for an active hurricane season highlight significant gaps in America's disaster preparedness.
Juliette Kayyem reports for The Atlantic.
In short:
- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts up to 25 named storms this hurricane season, driven by warm Atlantic waters and La Niña conditions.
- America's disaster-preparedness system, including FEMA and private insurers, lacks the resources to handle consecutive severe storms.
- Public complacency and inadequate disaster response infrastructure exacerbate the risks posed by increasingly frequent and intense hurricanes.
Key quote:
"Big ones are fast. They don’t care about our timelines. Preparedness is absolutely everything."
— Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service
Why this matters:
With predictions of a highly active hurricane season, the inadequacies in current disaster response systems could lead to severe consequences for vulnerable communities, emphasizing an increasing need for better preparedness amid escalating climate-related risks. Read more: Robbie Parks on why hurricanes are getting deadlier.
