Articles Tagged with ''extreme weather''

Hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes and wildfires: recent headlines prove that even disasters that give us some notice – such as hurricanes – can cause far more destruction than expected, and that effective emergency response depends upon preparedness.

As we recognize September as National Preparedness Month, U.S. and international emergency personnel have been overwhelmed with responses to the hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and wildfires experienced in this month alone.

With the Atlantic Hurricane Season in full swing through November, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) and the Lightning Protection Institute (LPI) are working to spread awareness of a less recognized, yet more frequent weather hazard: lightning.

After the widespread devastation Hurricane Irma wreaked on Florida, unmanned aircraft – more popularly, drones – have been invaluable in supporting response and recovery efforts in the battered Sunshine State.

At FEMA’s request, OSHA personnel headed the Joint Field Office in Austin, Texas to develop an incident-specific health and safety plan to protect workers during the cleanup and recovery operations following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey.

At state and federal level, there’s considerable resistance to planning for the various impacts of extreme weather events linked to climate change. To be sure, climate change is exacerbating the impacts of events like hurricanes. While the economic toll of this year’s storms is being calculated, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated in 2013 that weather-related power outages cost the economy between $18 billion and $33 billion each year.

What workers are at increased risk of injury during hurricanes or tornados? While most workers can stay inside during such a storm, some workers may be required to go into the storm. This may include utility workers, law enforcement personnel, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, federal, state and local government personnel (such as sanitation and highway workers), and military personnel.

Florida Power & Light Co.’s 10,000-square-foot Riviera Beach Command Center is essentially Florida’s Fort Knox. It’s made of layers of concrete block that can withstand Category 5 winds of 157 mph and higher.

Police are investigating the deaths of eight nursing home residents in Hollywood, Florida, where oppressive heat and humidity set in after Hurricane Irma knocked out much of the power in the area. The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills said the residents, ages 71 to 99, died "following a prolonged outage of our air conditioning system due to Hurricane Irma."

Repairing the grid after a major hurricane is a complex task, experts said. Utilities first have to send crews out to inspect the damage before they can figure out how best to restore service. That assessment can take days, and heavy flooding and debris from the storm can delay workers trying to reach key areas.