Hurricane Preparedness Planning for Law Enforcement Agencies - Essay Example

Many of these locations are vacation locations and swell in population during the hurricane season. This, in itself, causes secondary problems when it comes time to evacuate these areas. The population has outgrown the roads, which leads to evacuation problems. With the high cost associated with boarding up homes, closing businesses, and evacuating, a real strain is put on the residents of these hurricane prone areas. Law enforcement needs to also look at what it does internally for its employees when they are dealing with an event such as a hurricane.

The hurricanes that have struck the south Florida region have taught many things to first responders and the agencies that have employed them. Such events as Hurricane Andrew changed the way Florida looks at hurricanes. Andrew formed on August 16th, 1992 and dissipated on August 28th. Andrew is the second most destructive hurricane in U.S. history. With winds recorded at 175 Mph, it is one of only three Category 5 hurricanes to make landfall in the U.S. in the 20th century. In 1992, damage from Hurricane Andrew was estimated at $26 billion and was the most damaging storm in U.S. history (NOAA, 2003).

It was in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina made landfall that the record books changed. When Hurricane Charlie appeared in August 2004, winds . Hurricane Charlie came just 24 hours after Hurricane Bonnie struck northwestern Florida. This was the first time in history that two hurricanes had struck the same state in a 24 hour time period. Charlie caught many by surprise when it suddenly changed direction and came ashore in the area of Captiva Island and Charlotte Harbor on August 13, 2004. The hurricane didn't meet its demise when it made its way across the state to the Atlantic.

Once it entered the Atlantic near the Daytona Beach area, it went on to strike the Carolinas and then made its way to Virginia Beach. It was Hurricane Charlie that told us a lot about storm forecasting. A real fact regarding hurricane prediction is that you cannot predict what the storm will do during every moment of its life. The forecast had stated that Charlie would run north up the coast of Florida and make landfall near the Tampa area. Instead, it made a sharp right turn and roared ashore 100 miles south of its predicted target.

Storm forecasting is better left to the weather experts. It is the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida that takes care of the forecasting for the Atlantic states. The Weather Forecast Office (WFO) also takes care of forecasting tasks with offices located around the region. The NHC looks at the big picture, which is 3 or 4 days of forecasting, while the WFO takes that information and combines the local tidal information to forecast what the impact will be to a particular area.

Hurricane impact areas for the U.S. are the entire eastern seaboard of the United States that includes Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. In terms of law enforcement agencies, the response to a major event such as a hurricane can overwhelm their resources.