Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ian

Image courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License, resized to 700 x 391 pixels.

I read an interesting article that discussed what emergency managers learned from Hurricane Ian.  Although the lessons learned are not utility-specific, many of them are highly relevant.  So, let’s review some of the more applicable lessons that are transferable to the utility industry.

What Emergency Managers Learned from the Hurricane Ian Experience

Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in Sept. 2022, was one of the costliest – and deadliest – storms in Florida’s history.  The storm dropped a whopping 17 inches of rain in a single day, creating widespread flooding.  It also killed over 150 people in the state, making it the state’s deadliest weather event since 1935.

Based on the storm’s impact, state officials, first responders and emergency managers got together afterward to discuss what they learned.  Here is a summary of the top-3 initiatives stemming from the lessons learned that are most relevant to the utility industry:

• City officials in Orlando and elsewhere have begun hosting annual meetings with community groups to ensure storm readiness. From a utility perspective, there is no such thing as too much communication, and this tactic represents yet another tool for the communication toolbox.
• Officials from Seminole, FL have obtained additional special needs equipment and power generators and have upgraded the county’s logistics tracking system. Hopefully it goes without saying how these actions would benefit utility efforts.
• In Osceola County, officials have engaged in more training activity, and increased the number of weather stations at its disposal to improve the accuracy of forecasts. Obviously, training, along with exercises and drills, is critical for emergency preparedness, and better forecasting data can enable a more efficient and well-planned response.

While these insights are nothing Earth-shattering, they clearly serve as helpful reminders of what is most critical in emergency situations.  There is little doubt that Hurricane Ian was devastating, but the silver lining is that the learnings can be applied to future events.  And if the implementation of these lessons saves even one additional life, it will be well worth it.