Introduction Agencies/Tasks Resources Evaluation

Agencies and Tasks

Many government agencies are responsible for tracking, preparing for, and cleaning up after hurricanes. Leading the way are the meteorologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hurricane Hunters from the United States Air Force Reserves, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Each agency has a different task in the ultimate goal of minimizing the loss of life and property from hurricanes. You will be in groups of four students. Each person will take on the role of one government agency. To effectively organize the information for presentation to other government agencies, the media, and civilians, your group will need to create a PowerPoint presentation to show the important information gathered. Remember, although each agency works independently, they must all work together to save lives and property.

NOAA

A small disturbance in the Atlantic Ocean may develop into a hurricane, or it may die out. The scientists at the National Weather Service/National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida must predict what this storm will do. The task for the meteorologists is to identify the optimal conditions for hurricane development, how a hurricane forms, the life cycle of a tropical cyclone, the naming process for hurricanes, and the length of the hurricane season.

USAF Reserves

That small disturbance has turned into a hurricane and is headed into the Gulf of Mexico. For meteorologists to accurately predict the path of a storm, they need precise data. The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, known as the Hurricane Hunters, is part of 403rd Wing stationed at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. These airmen fly a Lockheed-Martin WC-130 into a hurricane to gather data. The task for these airmen is to know the tools used to gather weather information, what weather information is pertinent to hurricanes, the ground speed of a hurricane, the Beaufort scale, and the Saffir-Simpson scale.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The hurricane has grown in intensity to a Category 4 and is headed towards Mobile, Alabama. Action must be taken to save the city. The Army Corps of Engineers specialize in civil engineering. The Corps will use weather information to recommend evacuations and attempt to prevent storm damage. The task for the Mobile, Alabama District of the Army Corps of Engineers is to identify what preventive measures can be taken before a hurricane, evacuation routes out of Southern Alabama, what man-made and natural features can lessen and enhance the impact of the storm, and the storm surge and flooding that can be expected from each hurricane category.

FEMA

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that is too large for state and local authorities to handle alone. The tasks for the FEMA agents include outlining how an area gets proclaimed a federal disaster area, identifying the response teams deployed by FEMA and other agencies involved in disaster response, the amount of total damage (in dollars) caused by hurricanes, and the assistance programs offered to people by FEMA after a hurricane.

Conclusion

Now that the hurricane has moved back out to sea and rebuilding has begun, what have you learned? How do different agencies work together? How important is communication between agencies to minimize hurricane damage? Which agency is the most important?