More Than Just Hot Air

It was meant to be a quick trip to my local Costco . . . but the emergency management geek in me was distracted by an “activity/game” in the food court.

The Hurricane Simulator

For a $2 fee, you can stand in a capsule while electric fans simulate gusting winds (up to 78 mph) that accompany a category 1 hurricane. I didn’t have the change on me otherwise I would have embarrassed myself and tried it out.

I imagine the folks in Florida laughing at this.

The next time I was in the office, I googled Hurricane Simulator and found videos of people testing it out. They stood in the capsule as the simulated wind ruffled their clothes and hair. As you can imagine, these videos provided some good laughs.

However, the coolest part of the search was to uncover the GIANT hurricane simulator created by the University of Florida. This GIANT simulator is designed to test the impact of strong winds and rain on a house; powered by 4 diesel engines and 6 industrial fans . . .this can simulate winds from a category 3 hurricane (125 mph). The kind of power that can level a house in minutes.

By recreating the extreme winds, researchers can learn more about how hurricanes damage real homes and how to modify homes, building codes and products to best prevent that damage.
The researchers even use rocket launchers to understand the damage caused by flying debris.

How cool is that!

Little did I know when I saw the Hurricane Simulator at the mall it would lead me further down the path of emergency management geekdom.

What I learned on my summer vacation

I just returned from a luscious week in San Diego. What a perfect escape from the Arizona heat and the world of emergency management. Well, almost . . . .

The first day in San Diego, I saw a “Tsunami Evacuation Zone” sign. This is where the emergency management geek in me comes out . . ..I thought the sign was sort of cool.

Of course I don’t wish a disaster on any community, but I thought the sign was a good way to raise awareness to those residents along the beach that they are in a high risk zone.

But it got me thinking . . .there are signs in my Arizona community... .”Don’t cross when flooded” that are also meant to raise awareness.

Even though I pass by these signs on a regular basis, I have come to overlook their existence.

I am not sure what the bottom line is . . .

I need to look at my community with a fresh perspective to see existing hazards or identify new ones . . .

I just need to go on more vacations . . .or

I need to be less of an emergency management geek.