Avian Flu Diary: National Hurricane Preparedness Week 2025

#18,467

While Florida's collective trauma from last year's one-two punch of Hurricanes Helene & Milton remains all-too fresh, it is once again time for Floridians - and anyone who lives in the Caribbean or within a few hundred miles of the Atlantic or Gulf Coast - to prepare for the upcoming Atlantic tropical Season.

While predicting a season's severity is tricky business, Colorado State University has a pretty good record, and is calling for an above average season once again in 2025.

NOAA will issue their own forecast later in the month. But regardless of how many storms form, it only takes one - hitting where you are - to dramatically impact your life. I've already begun my yearly review and topping off of my hurricane preps, even though we are still several months from the peak of the season (August-October).

This year, given the trade situation, some preps - like emergency radios, LED lanterns, & solar equipment - may become more expensive over the summer (or in short supply). And of course, once a storm is on the horizon, whatever is available is quickly exhausted by panic buying.

This week (May 4th-10th) is Hurricane Preparedness Week, and NOAA, FEMA, and many local agencies are urging people who live or work in vulnerable areas to prepared.

This from NOAA's Hurricane Preparedness Week Social Media Plan.

English: Videos

En español: Videos

#HurricaneStrong #HurricanePrep

Please help the NWS spread the word about Hurricane Preparedness Week (May 4-May 10, 2025) on social media! Everyone is welcome to use the text and images provided below to help the NWS build a Weather-Ready Nation.

May 4, 2025 —  Know Your Risk: Wind & Water
May 5, 2025 —  Prepare Before Hurricane Season
May 6, 2025 —  Understand Forecast Information
May 7, 2025 —  Get Moving When a Storm Threatens
May 8, 2025 —  Stay Protected During Storms
May 9, 2025 —  Use Caution After Storms
May 10, 2025 —Take Action Today

On this site you'll find a 7-day plan (see day 1 below) for better preparedness.

While preparedness can't guarantee a good outcome - having been through many hurricanes, multiple evacuations, and several multi-day power outages - I can assure you it can make a difficult (and sometimes dangerous) situation easier to endure.

Five years ago, in Post-Disaster PTSD & Sequelae we looked at some of the long-term physical and mental health impacts from disasters, some of which can be avoided or lessened by preparing before the storm.

While this blog, and many other internet sources (I follow and recommend Mark Sudduth's Hurricane Track, and Mike's Weather page), will cover this year's hurricane season. your primary source of forecast information should always be the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida.

These are the real experts, and the only ones you should rely on to track and forecast the storm.

If you are on Twitter, you should also follow @FEMA, @NHC_Atlantic, @NHC_Pacific and @ReadyGov and of course take direction from your local Emergency Management Office.

For some of my past blogs on emergency preparedness, including how to set up a small solar power system, you may wish to revisit: