As Hurricane Season Begins, States and Industries Take Stock of Last Year's Lessons

The approaching 2018 Atlantic hurricane season has prompted some Gulf states and companies to heed the lessons of last year's storms, according to Morning Consult . The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts this year's season will be near- or above-normal, with a 70 percent probability of 10 to 16 named storms; five to nine storms are expected to potentially turn into hurricanes. In response to 2017's storms, the Petroleum Marketers Association of America set up a Disaster Fuel Response Program to connect companies to petroleum marketers and help a range of firms access fuel during and after a disaster. The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers' Jeff Gunnulfsen says in view of the extreme rainfall experienced during Hurricane Harvey, some companies consider that storm to be mainly a major flooding event in working out how to fortify dikes or ensure ahead of time that supplies are accessible to refiners if certain areas are prone to heavy flooding. However, hurricanes may prompt stakeholders to focus on the potential for structural damage caused by high winds and tornadoes. Two states profoundly impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Texas and Florida, are more deeply evaluating utility performance to ensure power remains uninterrupted during future storms. Meanwhile, congressional lawmakers have failed to enact legislation that targets improving federal emergency preparedness for hurricanes since 2017, despite appropriating emergency funding to help victims.