AMU Emergency Management Original Public Safety

Community Resiliency Efforts after Hurricane Michael

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hurricane michael

By Allison G. S. Knox
Contributor, EDM Digest

Hurricane Michael struck the Florida panhandle this past October, devastating Panama City and other local communities. More than 200 911 emergency calls were recorded in one 24-hour period and the storm also caused the cancellation of the New Year’s Eve celebration in Gulf County.

Months after the disaster, the Gulf Coast is still reeling from Michael’s impact. It will take years for the area to fully recover and rebuild.

But despite overwhelming national media coverage of Hurricane Michael, there has been little coverage or discussion about the rebuilding efforts now that the storm has passed.

Gulf Coast Areas Will Learn Community Resiliency Lessons from Hurricane Michael

Community resilience is based on the notion that a damaged community bounces back faster if recovery networks are in place. For example, churches, schools and community centers are venues where local networks can be created to help families and individuals.

Local  Gulf Coast recovery networks likely will be developed to prepare for future storms. The aftermath of Hurricane Michael will teach communities resiliency lessons that will allow emergency managers and residents to work more effectively when those storms occur.

 

Allison G.S. Knox

Allison G. S. Knox teaches in the fire science and emergency management departments at the University. Focusing on emergency management and emergency medical services policy, she often writes and advocates about these issues. Allison works as an Intermittent Emergency Management Specialist in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. She also serves as the At-Large Director of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, Chancellor of the Southeast Region on the Board of Trustees with Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences, chair of Pi Gamma Mu’s Leadership Development Program and Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Paramedicine. Prior to teaching, Allison worked for a member of Congress in Washington, D.C. and in a Level One trauma center emergency department. She is an emergency medical technician and holds five master’s degrees.

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