Plan for hurricanes
Re the May 13 article Florida’s hurricane insurance fund strong for storm season: It’s great news that Florida’s Hurricane Insurance Fund has received a report of good health. However, I take issue with state Rep. Frank Artiles’ comments.
One, we should never plan or assess our yearly risk for a hurricane based on the forecasts issued by the government and private institutions. These forecasts are interesting from a science perspective, but don’t give any indication where storms might strike. True, forecasts this year are indicating below-normal activity.
However, these forecasts are similar to the 1992 hurricane season that produced Hurricane Andrew.
Two, a direct hit from an Andrew-type storm over the economic center of the area would be a catastrophe on the scale of Hurricane Katrina. In fact, a study has shown that if a storm the size of the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, which was a Category 4, struck today it could amount to nearly $165 billion in insured damages.
Banking on a slow season isn’t a plan, and it’s bad policy.
David Bernard, president, Storm Strategies LLC, Miami
This story was originally published May 26, 2015 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Plan for hurricanes."