JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Of all hurricane seasons, this is the year we really need to be quiet. As the nation fights the spread of COVID-19, the anxiety over it could coincide with the start of the June 1 hurricane season.
Hurricanes take the spotlight for natural disasters, but coronavirus had claimed more than 4,500 lives in the U.S as of April 3, far greater than all of the major hurricanes that rampaged the Atlantic basin over the past four years.
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Hurricane Dorian marked the fourth consecutive season to feature at least one Category 5 hurricane. It killed 70 people in 2019, followed by Michael in 2018, with 31 direct deaths. Adding Irma and Maria in 2017 combined facilities totaling 3,193 and Matthew the year prior with 603 victims mostly in Haiti.
The Colorado State University’s preseason forecast is calling for a flurry of four above-average major tropical cyclones continuing the recent cycle over the past four years of hyperactive storms.
The timing comes at a bad time. Might a hurricane overwhelm the emergency response locked in an epidemic that could last well into the hurricane season?
While people face the stay-at-home quarantine with panic buying of goods like hand sanitizer, canned foods and toilet paper, the Florida Division of Emergency Management says to self-isolate and wash hands instead of stockpiling.
Reminder- this is NOT a hurricane! Floridians do not need to prepare as if a hurricane is coming. DO practice social distancing to prevent the spread of #COVID19. Read more on social distancing - https://t.co/B23DIjXgM0 pic.twitter.com/RiEDbeul6i
— FL Division of Emergency Management (@FLSERT) March 18, 2020
It is hard for us not to treat the virus as a deadly hurricane but combined with Corona’s rapid spread any tropical disturbance maybe this year’s perfect storm.
“Much of what we use as baseline assumptions for emergencies will not work right now,” said Bryan Koon, a former director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management who is now a disaster consultant. “We can’t open shelters like we used to under current social distancing guidelines.”
Newspaper authors Kimberly Miller and Gareth McGrath, bring concerning perspectives on how major storms could strain the government’s ability to protect lives. It could get complicated if evacuations are ordered while people need to social distance themselves and when medical services are in short supply.
Let’s hope a major storm skips past us this season. Already enough are suffering unemployment from the preseason COVID Hurricane.