FEMA encourages preparations for hurricane season

It’s hurricane season, and while that may not sound the alarm for many in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it should.

(FOX 5 DC) - It’s hurricane season, and while that may not sound the alarm for many in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it should.

"We want to save lives, and to save lives, you need to be prepared," explained Deputy Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 3 Janice Barlow, adding that hurricane season isn’t just a coastal problem.

For example, Barlow and Hurricane Program Manager Mike Bilder mentioned the damage Hurricane Isabel left behind in September of 2003, washing out homes, snapping trees, and leaving some in the area without power for more than a week.

"We have swift-water rescues that are happening in inland areas along rivers, and the Potomac is a prime example," Barlow explained.

"Oftentimes, the rainfall arrives to the D.C. area via the remnants of a hurricane or tropical storm," added Bilder. "So the storm is no longer organized, it’s no longer classified as a hurricane or tropical storm but still poses a very serious threat to inland communities."

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It’s why FEMA is urging people to be prepared, suggesting they go here to learn how.

"Especially in the D.C. area, it’s not necessarily hurricanes," Barlow explained. "It’s tropical storms, and it’s the inland effect of flooding that can really have an impact in the area, and people need to be prepared."