Mic check… Is this thing on?

In the last five months, the US has experienced some of the most catastrophic and debilitating disasters in our nation’s history. In September 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton wreaked havoc over 500 square miles in the southeast, all but erasing some of Appalachia’s most beautiful countryside, towns, and cities from existence. In January 2025, wildland fires in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) combined with hurricane-force winds to create one of the country’s most extensive and devastating urban conflagrations – destroying thousands of structures.

After each disaster, media pundits and armchair quarterbacks fan the flames of misinformation, attempting to find the most plausible explanation and person to blame. Then emergency managers conduct their hotwashes and write after-action reports identifying corrective actions so history doesn’t repeat itself.

But, what recent history is telling us… is that history will keep repeating itself.

The challenge now for emergency managers is to start having different conversations, and my recommendation is that the first one be introspective. Collectively, we need to take a timeout and ask ourselves, "Is this working?"

Looking holistically, it feels like our long-standing messages of risk and the consequences of not addressing those risks aren't being heard.  

Why are the preparedness solutions and mitigation measures we suggest often compromised and minimized by other priorities? Why are our programs and initiatives not funded or staffed to a level that would adequately address our risk?

Why aren’t more policies and regulations enacted to drive resilience forward?

When a risk assessment concludes that a jurisdiction/organization is increasingly at risk for myriad threats and hazards, and the data science can identify specific areas to strengthen (or make less vulnerable), why are those data-driven assessments, warnings, and recommendations not fully addressed?

When we raise concerns about the lack of adequate homeowner and renters’ insurance or offer incentive ideas to increase insurance coverage, why are those recommendations filed away and not acted on? The stark reality is that the opposite is occurring, and insurance companies are backing out of specific markets BECAUSE of risk.

Chief financial officers in the public and private sectors will suggest that they manage an ever-growing list of competing investment priorities, and there isn’t enough money to cover them all. For example, schools, first response capabilities, public works, and transportation remain top priorities for budget allocation in many local communities around the US.

It also seems that elected officials and chief executives hesitate to enact firm policies and regulations, like modernizing building codes or fully hardening cyber infrastructure. Perhaps this is because extreme measures such as these jeopardize other aspirations (and bottom lines).

When these decisions are made, the message received is that if everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. So why do emergency management’s preparedness and risk mitigation recommendations tend to take a financial hit first? All too often, unless a community has faced a recent disaster, our recommendations are viewed as “nice to haves” and, in my experience, are not prioritized to the level requested.

Of all the lessons that have yet to be learned from these recent events, the biggest one requires self-reflection from emergency managers. It’s time we ask ourselves some tough questions.

How can emergency management improve our risk, preparedness, and mitigation messaging so that executives, decision-makers, politicians, and budget offices prioritize our recommendations?

Frankly, the never-ending cycle of risk identification, mitigation recommendations, then disasters upending communities because the risks weren’t addressed... feels like we’re barking into the wind.

This isn’t a case of “emergency managers told you so.”

Instead, the call to action for emergency managers is to ask ourselves: Is it the microphone or the message that's not working as intended?

It’s time we explore different ways to convey the risks our communities and organizations face.