The Federal Emergency Management Agency is more prepared than ever for the 2007 hurricane season, having at the ready helicopters, generators, disaster medical teams and road clearing crews to react within hours, according to FEMA Director R. David Paulison. “So …
When Category 5 Hurricane Andrew damaged or destroyed more than 125,000 Florida homes and left about 250,000 people homeless in south Miami-Dade County, the destruction was born from a mix of 165 mph winds, outdated building codes, shoddy construction and …
Flying debris smashed through a window and Hurricane Andrew’s screaming winds pushed inside the home, splintering walls and tearing off the roof. Parents and children huddled under a mattress in a bathtub or closet as jagged pieces of wood and …
Nine words could save lives this hurricane season: “Using a generator indoors can kill you in minutes.” That might seem obvious, but it’s not — each year dozens of Americans die because they don’t properly use portable electric generators. Stuck …
Most people say their families and local emergency agencies are ready for the next natural disaster, but the federal government is not. Women and minorities are less confident on both counts. A poll on the subject was released this week, …
A new Florida law enacted during a 2007 January special session provides immediate savings for homeowners by shifting potential payments for hurricane losses from the homeowners receiving the current policy benefits to future policyholders, motorists and business owners, according to …
Texas emergency officials are struggling to assure their local counterparts that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan won’t damage the state’s ability to respond to a major hurricane striking the Gulf Coast. Local emergency coordinators at the State Hurricane Conference …
Florida emergency preparedness and response officials started a four-day practice exercise Monday to go through possible scenarios they may face this hurricane season. Officials were working at the emergency operations center in Tallahassee as if they were dealing with a …
She’s certainly no hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of around 45 mph (75 kph), but her arrival signals an early start to the Atlantic storm season. Miami’s National Hurricane Center logged in its first named storm of the season at …
Recent severe weather in Texas has prompted the Southwestern Insurance Information Service, an insurance trade group, to remind consumers that damage to their homes resulting from flooding is not covered by the standard homeowners policy. “Following a weather-related event involving …
