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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 Hurricane Outlook1 2026 HURRICANE SEASON Preparedness Briefing Dave Topczynski | June 9, 2026 Season Outlook 2 •NOAA has 70% confidence this season’s activity will be ‘below-normal’. •Forecast: 8-14 named storms, 3-6 becoming hurricanes, and 1-3 growing to be major hurricanes. •El Nino conditions are expected to develop over the summer. •Makes it harder for tropical storms to develop, leading to a lower number of storms overall, but does not reduce the risk. •Reminder, it only takes one storm to cause significant disruptions. •Rainfall from tropical storms was the deadliest hazard over the past decade (NOAA). •Impacts are experienced far away from a storm’s location. •Storm remnants often cause significant issues from heavy rain, increased tornado risk, and gusty winds toppling trees and power lines. Resident & Business Preparedness 3 •Start of hurricane season is a reminder for residents & businesses to review how severe weather can impact them. •Now is the time to take a moment to consider: •Insurance: Is it up to date? What conditions are covered and how much? Is separate flood insurance needed? •Evacuations: Where can you stay if an evacuation is ordered or if your home is damaged? What about their pets? What do you need if you can’t leave your home for several days? •Notifications: Are you registered for VBAlert to receive official alerts and updates? •Do any family, friends, or neighbors need help preparing? •Additional preparedness information can be found on the City’s Emergency Preparedness webpage. www.virginiabeach.gov/services/emergency-preparedness Preparedness Efforts 4 •Keeping the City prepared to manage incidents of any magnitude or type is a year-round effort. •Last year, our Emergency Management (EM) Division conducted or participated in over 300 hours of training or exercises with many departments, agencies, and community partners. •In addition to our standard preparedness activities: •City was recertified as a ‘Storm Ready Community’ by the National Weather Service (NWS). •FEMA conducted a review of our emergency alerting capabilities, which we exceeded. •Council adopted the City’s first, dedicated, Disaster Recovery Plan. •City’s Emergency Shelter Plan was reviewed and updated. •Conducted a regional evacuation workshop to coordinate resources during an evacuation. •These actions help align us with the recommendations from the FEMA Review Council. Preparedness Efforts, Cont. 5 •Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Modernization Project: •Completed a full upgrade of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). •Added an integrated, Field EOC to our equipment cache. •Completed and implemented a switch to a new disaster management application, ESRI EM Solution, to improve information sharing and situational awareness. •Expanded the Watch Desk in partnership with ECCS. •Conducting an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Exercise with Virginia Task Force 2. •Multiple departments are conducting additional training for damage assessments, debris management, public alerting, and search & rescue. Actions for an Approaching Storm 6 Emergency Management is your avenue for accurate, reliable information. Our goal is to communicate with you early on and keep you updated regularly. UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS IS CRITICAL TO STAY UPDATED AND PROVIDE RESIDENTS WITH RELIABLE, ACCURATE INFORMATION. Community Outreach 7 •Emergency Management conducts outreach across the City to educate residents on emergency preparedness. •Outreach Activities: •Attended the Public Safety Home School Day. •Delivered an Emergency Preparedness STEM program to 4th & 5th grade students in partnership with VBFD Fire & Life Safety. •Presented at the 1st Precinct’s Citizen Advisory Committee. •Visited with civic leagues and community groups. •Upcoming Activities: •Presenting to residents through Libraries. •Scheduling our annual meeting with the Senior Resource Center. •Presenting to the Sandbridge Civic League. 8 Questions?