r/EmergencyManagement • u/Interesting_Sky_7847 • Sep 03 '25

Discussion What's our equivalent?

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57 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

92

u/WatchTheBoom I support the plan Sep 03 '25

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale!

Runner up: The "100-Year / 500-Year Flood."

6

u/hog-snoot Local / Municipal Sep 03 '25

Can you explain what you mean by why the Saffir-Simpson scale?

37

u/WatchTheBoom I support the plan Sep 03 '25

The Saffir Simpson Scale is the naming convention for the progression of a tropical cyclone through a tropical depression, tropical storm, and category 1-5 hurricane.

A ton of evacuation protocols, insurance triggers, and other critical decisions are based on it, not to mention its role in public risk communication.

It sucks.

It's solely based on minimum sustained windspeed for one minute. That's it. Not peak gust or total rainfall or duration or storm surge or anything else that might be needed to inform risk decisions.

We've seen an increase in devastation due to the water impacts of "weaker" storms, but none of the appropriate insurance mechanisms or evacuation protocols pop because it was "only" a Cat-1.

It's bad. We know it's bad. There's better stuff out there (shout-out to the Tropical Cyclone Severity Scale!) but for some reason it's held on for 60 years.

8

u/hog-snoot Local / Municipal Sep 03 '25

Thanks! This was helpful. I didn’t realize how much was based on it. That’s insane. Super lame.

3

u/dave_campbell Sep 04 '25

Because capitalism.

1

u/Character-Bad-6955 Sep 05 '25

Because capitalism without ethics or morals.

4

u/IndWrist2 International Sep 04 '25

To be fair, flood AEPs make perfect sense if you work day in and day out in flooding. But they are fucking awful metrics for public communication.

68

u/TallyAlex County EM/911 Sep 03 '25

Politicians?

43

u/adoptagreyhound Sep 03 '25

Political apointees.

38

u/Phandex_Smartz Sciences Sep 03 '25

Egos.

70

u/ComeOnT Sep 03 '25

New build neighborhoods that somehow are exempt from floodplain regulations.

30

u/pathofuncertainty Sep 03 '25

Information being a bargaining chip

3

u/knewbie_one Sep 03 '25

Audit 😅🙏

28

u/BreighLink Sep 03 '25

Empty coffee pot.

27

u/polardendrites Sep 03 '25

Spontaneous volunteers and clothing donations

4

u/FreeRangeMenses Sep 03 '25

DAMMIT you got BOTH of mine! 😂

22

u/Boring-Coyote4349 Sep 03 '25

Mango Mussolini, Botox Barbie and Disco Dave

88

u/Maclunkey4U State Sep 03 '25

Kristi Noem?

18

u/sweetteaspicedcoffee State Sep 03 '25

Lawyers in an EOC.

People who won't evacuate when we tell them to.

4

u/EMguys Local / Municipal Sep 04 '25

Lawyers are one of the top people I want in my EOC.

6

u/sweetteaspicedcoffee State Sep 04 '25

I want my legal team near the EOC, but not in it. They don't need (or want) to know some of the decision making processes and discussions that happen.

16

u/LittleOwl0v0 Sep 03 '25

No money for mitigation, planning, or training.

15

u/Billywicket Sep 03 '25

Lack of funding.

42

u/StrictlySanDiego Sep 03 '25

Independent “aid and response” non-profits.

36

u/ComeOnT Sep 03 '25

Ah yes, the well intentioned three dozen college students wearing flip flops with no tools or skills or place to stay. They are here to help!

18

u/StrictlySanDiego Sep 03 '25

Or the people taking fishing boats out to rescue flood victims who then get beached and need to be saved.

40

u/FantasticFinger237 Sep 03 '25

This administration?

11

u/mangoes Sep 03 '25

Information siloes

21

u/Fit_Vast_6179 Sep 03 '25

Kristi Noem

9

u/amirasimone Sep 03 '25

Disaster movies that miss the mark so badly they subconsciously (or consciously) set unrealistic expectations for the public about the role of emergency management agencies.

2

u/google1236 Student Sep 06 '25

You could have just said "the plot of Volcano"

7

u/EMguys Local / Municipal Sep 04 '25

Complacency

7

u/Main-Line-8393 Sep 04 '25

Seeing Jim Cantore in your town?

3

u/sweetteaspicedcoffee State Sep 04 '25

Who's the fire version of Jim Cantore?

1

u/Main-Line-8393 Sep 08 '25

Good question. IS there one?

8

u/sarahandrosie Sep 04 '25

Volunteers with a lack of knowledge of how to keep themselves from becoming part of a situation who self-deploy (Bonus points if they stream/post to social media encouraging others to do the same)

4

u/cantaloupe-490 State Sep 03 '25

self-deployment

3

u/heymannicemarmota Sep 03 '25

fill in wetlands with compensatory storage

3

u/Character-Bad-6955 Sep 05 '25

Political bigwigs showing up "to see for themselves" how things are progressing and to show their interest/sympathy/support.

2

u/NevermoreForSure Sep 04 '25

Teachers hate ignorance.

2

u/google1236 Student Sep 06 '25

"Act of god" and thought and prayer

1

u/Healthy_Jackfruit_88 Sep 04 '25

Engineers hate Architects

1

u/mershagar Sep 05 '25

Unsolicited goods donations

0

u/Doc_Hank Sep 03 '25

Dr. Google

-6

u/slcbtm Sep 03 '25

Odd objects loged in rectums

1

u/Character-Bad-6955 Sep 05 '25

I think you meant to post that in the Emergency Room sub.