Crisis-Weary Nation Faces 2020 Hurricane Season

By now, you’re likely aware of the predictions of a very active upcoming hurricane season for the Atlantic. With an increasing number of storms comes increased chances of impacts and possibly landfalls on the southeast and east coasts of the US. Of course, there’s no way to know where or even if there will be impacts or landfalls.

A hurricane landfall would only add to a year that has seen decades worth of historic events and crises. So far, we’ve almost gone to war with Iran in January, we concluded a dramatic impeachment process in February, we’ve concluded a dramatic, long primary fight, and now we’re dealing with the worst global pandemic in a century and the worst economic and employment crisis since the Great Depression.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended every aspect of American (and global) life. The number of deaths is in the tens of thousands and forecast to surpass 100,000. Medical and emergency workers are overtaxed. Local and state governments and the federal government are struggling to get a handle on the crisis. We are a crisis-weary nation and it feels like we’re nearing the breaking point of the level of crisis that we can handle.

Understandably, much of the state and local emergency resources are going to manage the pandemic at this moment. But states in the southeast should be preparing for an ongoing pandemic and a possible hurricane strike and how the confluence of the two may overwhelm further emergency response. Moreover, residents in the southeast who are in the path of tropical cyclones should be adding hurricane preparedness to their COVID-19 precautions. Mental health is also a great concern, already suffering from the pandemic. Adding a natural disaster to the mix will only compound already high levels of anxiety.

As a nation, we’ve been tested many times before. But rarely have we been tested by so many large-scale crises happening concurrently. How we prepare for the upcoming hurricane season will dictate how well we deal with potential hurricane impacts while in an ongoing pandemic.