Hurricane Ian was a storm for the record books. It not only battered Puerto Rico and wreaked havoc across Florida but also struck the Carolinas over a matter of days. The storm claimed the lives of well over 100 people and left behind what many have described as looking like a “war zone.” The damage and economic loss from Hurricane Ian will likely surpass that of Hurricane Harvey (2017) at $190 billion. Still, residents, volunteers, businesses, public safety agencies, state and local governments, FEMA, and countless others are working together to support the hundreds of communities impacted by the massive category 4 storm. Collaboration is crucial to recovery and resilience following natural disasters, particularly those of such magnitude.
Take Hurricane Sandy (2012), for example. It struck the East Coast of the U.S., resulting in severe impacts and substantial damage to the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut regions. As described in FEMA’s Collaborating to Build Resilience: Hurricane Sandy, 2012, transportation networks were essentially shut down, major airports were closed, and subways, rails, tunnels, and bridges across the region were severely impacted. Over 23,000 people were temporarily displaced, and the damage from the storm totaled over $70 billion. And like Hurricane Ian, Sandy’s eventual death toll climbed above 100