This week we moved into our new home near the outer banks in North Carolina, and insurance, floods, and hurricane threats were all buzzing through my mind.  As we are settling into our new home, this week’s lesson was all about planning, preparing, and responding to coastal hazards which made me think about preparing a hurricane emergency kit.  We are out of the storm surge threat, but we are still vulnerable to the rest of intense weather conditions associated with tropical storms and hurricanes.

I did a quick search and an article on WTKR, a local news station, popped up titled “Emergency management teams prepare for hurricane season in the Outer Banks”.  The article highlighted that the Dare County Emergency Management team was looking over evacuation routes and response plans to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.  The Team was holding an open house which would discuss and showcase emergency supply kits, have insurance representatives available, and provide education on flood zones and pro-active measures.

The article highlighted important aspects of preparedness as discussed in this week’s module, however from just this information in the article I feel like this particular event may not take into account different social barriers that some residents may encounter.  The article did not mention transportation, which could be an issue for some residents.  The article also did not indicate that there would be future open houses in case someone could not attend this particular one.  This week’s lesson touched on the different factors that create barriers to emergency communication, and after reading the module I was able to look at this article with a different perspective.  I believe holding open houses such as this, is a great pro-active measure to encourage and help residents prepare for possible hazards, but I think it is important to take multiple steps and different forms of communication to ensure you reach the bulk of the population.  I plan on taking the information from this week’s module along with suggestions from the local emergency management team when preparing my emergency supply kit, but I do wonder how many residents are unable to obtain the resources to make this kits for themselves and their families?  This course has opened my eyes to wide scope of variables that are associated with coastal hazards and those affected by coastal hazards.

References:

Harmon, G., & Corillo, T. (2016, May 18). Emergency management teams prepare for hurricane season in the Outer Banks. Retrieved July 31, 2016, from http://wtkr.com/2016/05/18/the-outer-banks-is-getting-you-ready-for-hurricane-season/