Holy Cross Health’s Commitment to Hurricane Preparedness
June 1, 2025
One of the biggest threats we face in Broward County are Hurricanes. The 2025 Hurricane Season begins on June 1, 2025, and runs through November 30, 2025. Holy Cross Health begins preparing for the Hurricane Season several months in advance via attending various learning seminars and participating in meetings with Broward County Emergency Management. This year Holy Cross Health participated in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Broward County Healthcare Coalition in January of 2025 focused on Hurricane scenarios. The Broward County Healthcare Coalition (BCHC) is a collaborative network of organizations throughout Broward County that serve as a multi-agency coordinating group to enhance healthcare system Emergency Management activities. The January 2025 tabletop exercise provided valuable learnings to our organization as we mitigate potential vulnerabilities entering the 2025 Hurricane Season.
The National Hurricane Center is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is an agency that seeks to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts to share that knowledge and information with others with goals to conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. The NOAA has predicted an above normal 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season with:
- 13 - 19 named Storms
- 6 – 10 Hurricanes
- 3 – 5 Major Hurricanes (category 3 or higher)
While June begins the Hurricane season, NOAA studies have shown the month of September to historically produce the largest number of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms in the Atlantic Basin. A forecast is never considered perfect and the smallest change in the track of a storm makes a big difference on both the area impacted and level of impact; therefore, when Tropical Storm and Hurricane watches and warnings are issued, they are done based on the forecast of risk to an area and not on a forecast of a guaranteed direct impact.
Hurricane Helene struck the Southeastern United States in late September of 2024. When Helene made landfall, it was a Category 4 hurricane. Helene caused widespread destruction in Florida, Tennessee, and the Carolinas where historic flooding occurred across the Appalachian Mountains. There was a total of 251 fatalities and over 117 injuries because of the storm. Hurricane Helene is considered one of the costliest hurricanes in US History.
Hurricane Ian devastated the West Coast of Florida when it made landfall in the Town of Fort Myers Beach on September 28, 2022. It was the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, with 161 fatalities, and the strongest hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Hurricane Michael in 2018. Many longtime residents of Fort Myers who experienced Hurricane Charley in 2004 chose not to evacuate the area based on the predicted categories of the two hurricanes being the same (Category 4 at landfall).
So why were Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Ian so deadly in comparison to Hurricane Charley? Hurricane Ian had a larger eye, a larger extreme wind diameter, and moved much slower with a storm surge doubling that of Hurricane Charley. Hurricane Helene had an even larger wind field than Hurricane Ian, and while it moved slightly faster than Hurricane Ian, Helene’s storm surge was record breaking due to its speed and track over relatively shallow waters.
How to Prepare for Hurricane Season 2025
Community members may ensure their safety this Hurricane Season by taking advantage of many resources available. The Florida Division of Emergency Management provides the following as a checklist to assure residents are equipped with the supplies recommended to get them safely through a storm:
https://www.floridadisaster.org/kit
It is also important to understand evacuation zones and shelter options. Broward County’s Division of Emergency Management offers a comprehensive Hurricane preparedness guide; as well as offering a Special Needs Shelter and Evacuation Transportation Assistance Program for those who qualify. To learn more regarding these resources, please reference the below links or contact (954) 831-3902:
https://www.broward.org/AtRisk/Documents/ShelterEvacTransportOverview.pdf
Community Well-Being and Hurricane Preparedness
Holy Cross Health holds our Core Value of Safety in the highest regard. Through community partnerships, ongoing preparation, and information sharing in an ever-changing environment, we remain committed to being the community’s most trusted Health Partner for Life.