Wacky Weather

Hurricane Earl, currently in the Caribbean, is threatening travel for the key Labor Day holiday weekend.

Image: Courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

As Hurricane Earl makes its way across the Atlantic Ocean—headed possibly for the North Carolina coast or possibly for New York's Long Island—the Institute for Southern Studies reports that the nation remains unprepared to deal with another major disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina.

In its report, “Learning from Katrina: Lessons from Five Years of Recovery and Renewal in the Gulf Coast,” the nonprofit organization says that many of the failures in disaster planning and recovery have yet to be addressed.

Specifically, the report notes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency still omits international standards for protecting storm victims in its disaster framework and that federal officials have yet to expand contractor investigations or oversight to reduce waste, fraud and abuse.

The only bright spot is the entrepreneurial spirit that often rises after these types of disasters hit. "This rising spirit of activism and advocacy has not only helped thousands of Gulf residents participate in the recovery, but it's also helped hold the government accountable and mobilized national support for Gulf renewal," the study finds.

And while the Gulf is still fighting back, a new set of storms threaten its livelihood, with hurricane Earl being the first concern. Just a few days before Labor Day, the storm is already threatening travel plans that were originally expected to rebound.

Auto club AAA, which tracks the nation's travel plans for major holidays, expects travel to pick up 9.9 percent over last year, but the price of gas also is higher, making the last getaway before autumn cost an average of $50 more.

The travel projections were good news for the Southeast Coast, a region that desperately needs any tourism it can get to offset the economic stress of the BP oil spill that has left many hospitality businesses, both big and small, on the brink of financial ruin.

“The impact of the hurricane on travel this weekend will depend on what the storm does in the next 48 hours,” AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Ragina C. Averella said in a statement.

A little further north, the Carolina coast is wearily eyeing Earl. It's directly in the path of the hurricane that's still gathering steam in the Atlantic Ocean. While the Carolinas have so far been spared any major damage from the spill, destruction from the storm can become a heavy cost.

Particularly in focus ahead of the storm's strike are insurers State Farm and Nationwide. “Insurers with larger market shares in coastal insured properties will see the most meaningful impact,” Elizabeth Malone, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities Inc., told Bloomberg. “Hurricanes that come on to the Atlantic coast could have greatest impact on the properties on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.”

As of 2007, North Carolina had $133 billion of property damage covered by insurers. Neighboring Virginia—not directly in Earl's path--had $159 billion, with South Carolina coming in at $192 billion. When Hurricane Isabel hit the Outer Banks, it cost the state $3.4 billion. Katrina did $40 billion in damage to the region, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

To try and minimize damage, the International Business Times has this advice from FEMA for local businesses:

• Carefully assess how your company functions, both internally and externally, to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep the business operating.
• Identify operations critical to survival and recovery.
• Plan what you will do if your building, plant or store is not accessible.
• Consider if you can run the business from a different location or from your home.
• Develop relationships with other companies to use their facilities in case a disaster makes your location unusable.
• Learn about programs, services, and resources at U.S. Small Business Administration.

Ryan Sharrow of the Baltimore Business Journal and James Gallagher of the Triangle Business Journal contributed to this report.