We’ve closed the door on the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
As we collectively breathe a sigh of relief, count the blessings we see before us and kneel for a prayer, it is incumbent to realize we dodged a big one this year. Hurricane Dorian was mean, and if we go and spend a little time with the folks on the Outer Banks, they’ll tell us and show us as much.
Just as we retold the stories of hurricanes Matthew and Florence, they are experiencing similar recoveries and frustrations even now in the aftermath of Dorian. The data Colorado State University uses — and that’s a reputable entity that studies what happens in the tropics — indicates 2019 was near or above average in all metrics.
For the record, 18 storms were named, six were hurricanes and three were deemed intense. If the Saffir-Simpson wind scale went higher than 5, it is believed Dorian would have been a 6.
She passed us, rained on us a bit, blew around a few things, but by and large left Bladen County just wet. And not much at that when compared to previous storms, never mind Florence and the 35.93 inches it left in Elizabethtown.
Dorian’s visit to Bladen County, even if tepid by comparison, was our third hurricane in 35 months. Said Nathan Dowless, the just-hired director of Emergecy Services in a Sept. 6 morning assessment meeting, “It wasn’t nothing like we expected, which is a good thing.”
Bladen County was ready. Heck, we always are, even now when it’s time for Saint Nick. We’ve had our fair share of storms, and we’ve had plenty of folks come and help us. We’ve gone to help, too.
Our people have trained, and we’ve taken good notes on the trained hands who have come to our rescue.
Hurricanes are not a good thing, but what we’ve done so well for so long is take each one and try and get better in some area afterward. It might be a form of response, a form of aid, a way to communicate, a way to get ready — depending on the person or entity, it could be about anything.
Oh, yes, and we’ve learned more and more on how to deal with FEMA. Federal red tape is the toughest there is, and their workers who come here will tell you that.
But there’s a way to make an approach, and while not all answers will be “yes” there are ways to increase the chances. Our people, those in key places to help the county, learn a little something every time.
Last Saturday was the last day for this hurricane season. Chances are decreased that we’ll see anything before late next spring.
But like this year with Dorian, and in years past, whatever may come we’ll be ready.
For now, we’re enjoying dodging the bullet.