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The 2022 hurricane season, which starts on June 1 and ends on November 30, is expected to be the seventh consecutive year with above average storm predictions. Experts urge schools to prepare now, as it only takes one storm to impact your school and community.
If you have any doubt about the emotional and academic impact that hurricanes have on students’ psyches and academic successes, just ask the administrators, teachers, and students affected by 2017’s Hurricane Harvey. The Category 4 hurricane wreaked havoc on Houston and surrounding areas, ultimately impacting 13 million people from Texas through Louisiana.
Houston Independent School District (HISD), the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States, closed its doors like many other districts were forced to. More than 1,300 students from HISD were displaced or homeless after Hurricane Harvey. The hurricane disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands immediately after and for several years following the storm.
A neighborhood in Port Arthur, Texas, flooded by Hurricane Harvey in 2017
Staff Sgt. Daniel J. Martinez/U.S. Air National Guard
What Are Experts Predicting for the 2022 Hurricane Season?
The Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU) releases a series of predictions before and during each hurricane season. For the 2022 season, CSU is forecasting 19 named storms and nine hurricanes. More alarmingly, CSU predicts four major hurricanes.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting 14-21 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes, and 3-6 major hurricanes. If predictions are correct, this would be the seventh consecutive year with above-average hurricane activity.
Image source: NOAA
How Can Schools Be Prepared for the 2022 Hurricane Season?
One of the most important components of response is being prepared before inclement weather or natural disasters impact your region. This starts with having a multi-hazard emergency operations plan (EOP) that you’ve developed in collaboration with key stakeholders, like staff, parents, students, first responders, and local emergency management officials. Districts should also work with agencies like the National Weather Service (NWS) and the American Red Cross.
In our free guide, Strategies for Effective Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, you’ll learn techniques and best practices to develop a response plan that is built specifically for your school. The guide also provides recommendations and advice on using your school facility as an emergency shelter to protect those in your community when disaster strikes.
To learn how the Raptor School Safety Suite can keep your schools safe all year, contact us today.
Related Resources
Strategies for Effective K-12 Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
Responding and recovering from a severe weather event starts with creating a plan to keep everyone safe.
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