2019 Outlook and CERRA Update

Happy New Year! 2019 is officially here, which means starting your yearly disaster preparations should be at the top of your to-do list to insure your organization is prepared for anything that 2019 holds.

2019 Storm Outlook:

The need for preparation in 2019 is ever so true if we use the past two years as an indication of what lays ahead. Both the 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons were extremely active, producing major storms such as Irma, Maria, Florence, and Michael, and this activity can be seen by evaluating ACE, or “accumulated cyclone energy”. An average hurricane season has an ACE of 92. The 2018 season had an ACE of 129, and 2017′s record-breaking season ended with a whopping ACE of 226. This increase in ACE translates to a higher likelihood of tropical storm and hurricane formation. If 2019’s season holds true to the same trend of high ACE, then we could see yet another year of high storm development.

CERRA Update:

As a reminder, these reentry placards are interoperable between multiple jurisdictions and states nationwide in support of the DHS CERRA effort(https://www.cerraaccess.org/). The benefit with CERRA is that a single registration/enrollment can be used in all jurisdictions participating in CERRA nationally. This means you only need to register one time to receive access to all areas that participate. Current participation includes Mississippi, Louisiana, Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Washington, and various local jurisdictions such as Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and Harris County, TX. We anticipate this list to grow larger in 2019, expanding the area in which these credentials will allow access.

It is still very early in 2019 which means a lot could happen that may disturb your organization’s ability to operate and succeed, so if you would like to insure your organization is prepared for any disaster that may occur in 2019 please visit https://www.eritn.com/registration.