2011 Fierce forecast: Feds Predict up to 10 Major Hurricanes in Atlantic and Gulf
Everyone’s calendar has a June 1. It is the start of hurricane season. Most likely, a hurricane will not hit that day.
In fact you may be pessimistic about forecasters… they’ve “blown it” and “oversold it” so may times in the past and it hasn’t happened to you yet. But it is a bad bet to assume that some unknown force will prevent all hurricanes. And you can be sure, that when the next big one hits, plenty of folks will be caught napping for just that reason.
Every prediction this year reflects the fact that conditions are perfect for an above-average hurricane season. Warmer water, reduced shear, disaster denial, and budget cuts for satellite monitoring all point to concern. And there are weather patterns that are pushing cold air from the North, dry air from the West and moist warm air from the gulf all converging in the exact same spot. One hurricane can change lives forever. Not only if you are directly hit at point zero, but the indirect losses caused by the disaster (houses and businesses shaken badly, supply shortages, lost business, insurance premium hikes) will have major impacts. Why will your employees come to work if they are concerned about their families?
2011 has already brought record catastrophes: Many major earthquakes, devastating tsunamis, and radiation in Japan, over 900 tornados in the Southeast, and major flooding on the Mississippi. Why would you expect hurricane season to break this pattern? Yes, hurricanes will come. Several will more than likely be major. Media will show scary pictures. Homes and businesses destroyed, and lives lost. We cannot stop all events. We can predict them and plan for them.
Federal forecasters Thursday May 19th called for an “above-normal” 2011 hurricane season, with:
1. 12-18 named storms predicted to form in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
2. Of those, 6-10 should become hurricanes,
3. including 3 to 6 major hurricanes, with wind speeds above 111 mph.
Climate factors in this outlook include unusually warm Atlantic Ocean water, with temperatures some two degrees above average, reports Gerry Bell, lead seasonal forecaster at the Climate Prediction Center. Additionally, the impacts of the La Nina climate pattern, such as reduced wind shear, are expected to continue into the hurricane season. The NOAA forecast is similar to earlier predictions by researchers at Colorado State University and the AccuWeather commercial service.
Watch out Florida!
See this video report: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/hurricanes/2011-05-10-hurricane-season-forecast-noaa_n.htm
Here are 3 mega-important Tips
for preparing that
you may not be aware of:
1. Grab n’ Go Box
Get ready to run! Plan ahead what you will take with you. Important docs, photos, legal papers, prescriptions, scrapbooks, creative/intellectual material. Digitally send copies to family and friends in other remote locations or store them online. Have a copy of these essentials in another location (city or state). Keep a camera handy.
2. Insurance
Keep a copy of all insurance papers in another location or on an online back up service. Remember, insurance needs may include water damage and mold or specialty items like fine art or collectibles which are not included in a “normal” policy. You may need additional coverage. Make a call to you agent and find out. Federal insurance programs can be cheap! . Keep a camera handy.
3. Anchor Down Collectibles
The Getty Museum in Los Angeles invented an anchoring wax20 years ago or so to protect fragile collectibles from shaking buildings. But it was found that not only the items were saved but… collectibles become flying missiles in a hurricane or earthquake. Protect your family and pets by keeping things anchored down. Its more likely that you will be harmed by something flying through the air than the roof falling in on you. See “museum Wax” below top photo for videos and more info.
For more information
on protecting and saving your valuable personal items go to www.saveyourstuffblog.com
What goes in the grab n' go kit?
For appraisal questions go to www.faclappraisals.com
For conservation and restoration questions go to www.fineartconservationlab.com
Scott M. Haskins
805 564 3438
Posted in Hurricane
4 Comments
What Is Your Opinion About This Hurricane Season? – 3 Hugely Important Tips
Denying That Hurricane Season Could Impact You?
It’s being reported that the Florida Division of Emergency Management says almost two-thirds of people who live in hurricane evacuation zones didn’t know they would be at risk, and that most people polled don’t have a definite evacuation plan. For the story, go to http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/hurricane-apathy-polls_2010-06-03. I previously reported in my interview of hurricane experts at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando that there is a consensus from hurricane labs and research centers North to South, East to West that there is a severe hurricane season ahead.
In a personal conversation with Deborah Schuneman, director of the national research center and clearinghouse for Small Business Development Centers, (www.SBDCNet.org) the need for small businesses to prepare and have a plan will make the difference between survival and closing, even if the business is not at ground zero. And including, in that plan, a contingency for saving assets (artwork, intellectual and creative property), company records, employee personal items, legal papers, collectibles and historical material etc can make a huge difference in the result or effectiveness of that plan. Continue reading
Small Historical Museum Asks About Archival Storage
Page protectors can be put into any notebook
A small historical museum asks great questions about archival storage. These are questions and answers that someone at home will benefit from and is very important for a business.
Scott, Hi. I’m still trying to get a handle on the most effective (but also economical) way to store paper items archivally.
1. Is it OK, for instance, to put paper items in archival manila folders and/or archival poly pages (all acid and lignin-free), but then put those folders and pages in nonarchival hanging files from a regular office supply store? (I’m hoping so because the archival hanging files are expensive!) Yes, once an item is enclosed, or isolated, away from “regular” or acidic materials in an impermeable material (for instance, acids from paper don’t migrate through the plastic page protectors like they do through a regular paper envelope) then they can be stored in regular office files. Continue reading
Posted in Archival storage
Tagged archival, certificate, diploma, document, photo, photo album, photograph, scrapbook
5 Comments
Hurricane Season Begins. But Who Cares If You Don’t Live In Hurricane Country?
Hurricanes are a big deal… the most violent of weather related natural disasters. The Director of Human Resources at Amgen told me that if a hurricane made a direct hit on their production facility in the Caribbean and shut them down, they would be in a world of hurt. The domino effect would impact businesses all over the world.
So, the question to you is, “Are any of your suppliers or major clients in hurricane country?” What will happen to your company if:
… you stop getting supplies?
… your supply routes are blocked or closed?
… your customer’s businesses are closed?
What are the chances this will happen? Continue reading
Posted in Protect your business
Tagged business, customer, domino effect, prediction, suppliers
1 Comment
Hurricanes Don’t Blow Everyone To OZ
If you’ve been in a hurricane, you’ll “Amen” the fact that only the homes and businesses at ground zero get badly damaged… and everyone else within the area may just get badly shaken. That means you still have to deal with a shaking building and that can cause regretful damage if you are not prepared.
Good news, it doesn’t take all that much effort to protect and save your collectibles, memorabilia, scrapbooks, photos, artwork heirlooms, business project files ( very important intellectual property!). So, here’s a practical example of regretful damage that could have easily been avoided:
Hurricane Damage: The nail pulled out of the wall when there was a little shaker.
Even if you think you have a strong enough wire on the back of your painting, is the eye hook that attaches the wire to the frame solid enough? Even if the artwork’s hanging hardware looks strong, you might have it barely hanging onto a nail on the wall! Even if you think its a good sturdy nail, it could pull out of the plaster wall board fairly easily. In other words, the weakest link will be the one that causes the whole thing to come crashing to the floor… JUST LIKE THIS $25,000 PAINTING! I’ve seen hanging items come off the wall with as little as a sonic boom and playing, rambunctious kids. This damage happened in a public place. Continue reading