With Hurricane Season Two Months Away, Expert Says it's Never Too Early to Prepare
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
By: Carmel Delshad

April 16, 2014 | WMFE, Orlando - The National Hurricane Conference is in Orlando this week, and one expert says while Floridians are well-prepared for the upcoming hurricane season this summer, starting early is key.

Karen Durham-Aguilera stresses always being prepared for hurricanes, no matter when the next hurricane is expected to hit. The director of contingency operations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says people should remember to do the big things like putting plywood on their windows and buying non-perishable food, to smaller tasks like filling up their cars with gas and going to the ATM for cash.

“You have to always be ready. You can’t look at the forecast, because it only takes one. One storm can end up doing considerable damage and impacting people,” Durham-Aguilera says.

Hurricane Sandy was also a major topic of discussion at the conference.

The 2012 storm pummeled through the northeastern coast of the United States, leaving millions of dollars of damage in its wake.

Durham-Aguilera says one of the major lessons learned post-Sandy was thinking beyond immediate response to long-term recovery.

“One of the things we did during Sandy, and are doing even more since, is that almost as soon as we are launching the Federal team to respond to the event, we are launching the people who help with the recovery," she says.

She says that as a whole, Floridians are well-prepared for the upcoming hurricane season. But nation-wide, everyone needs to work on being prepared for the worst-case scenarios for hurricanes and other natural disasters.