Ernest Hemingway Quotes

I was involved in some of the very first meetings that created the maps that showed what would happen if you had a Category 1, 2 or 3 hurricane in New York.

The preparations are what they are. We're here. The storm is coming. We are as best prepared as we can be as the eye of the storm approaches.

While Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the dangers of failing to evacuate hospitals from the path of a storm, Hurricane Gustav demonstrated that moving thousands of sick people has its own risks. Gustav also highlighted a critical vulnerability of American hospitals - an inability to withstand prolonged blackouts.

We're learning as we go. We're a lot smarter this time. We understand what it takes to mobilize away from the threat of a hurricane.

In New York, FEMA granted the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club's request to be remapped from the high-risk flood zone in August 2012 - just two months before the club was damaged and its outbuildings destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, which stacked up yachts at its docks like pick-up sticks.

If there were a major earthquake in Los Angeles, with bridges and highways and railroads and airports all shut down and huge buildings collapsing, I don't care how much planning you do, the first 72 hours is going to be chaotic.

If you have a major disaster involving hundreds of thousands, or in this case millions of people, whether it be a natural disaster or an act of terrorism, the first 72 hours are going to be totally chaotic no matter what you plan to do.

FEMA says that it does not factor in previous losses into its decisions on applications to redraw the flood zones.

Before Katrina, it was a longstanding tradition in our country for political officials to wait until the last minute to warn, to take action, to evacuate. No more. With Irene, you had mass evacuations - mandatory ones - issued days ahead of time. That was the right thing to do.

There is no question that FEMA and the National Emergency Response System did not fail America the day that Katrina hit. They failed the day before and the days before that.

As a 9-year-old child, I vividly remember the day Hurricane Andrew touched down in 1992. My family was living in the Upper Florida Keys at the time, and we soon realized its utter devastation to South Florida, with entire blocks leveled by Andrew's vicious winds.

We have seen levee breaks and flooding in the wake of storms, some of which have caused the loss of life, and USDA is ready to assist in any way we can.

Like air pollution, flood risk is a threat that government should be protecting us against.

Flooding is the costliest and most common cause of property damage, which is why federal flood insurance should be affordable and accessible to all.

No matter the natural disaster I've covered, whether it's a wildfire or flood, I always come back with a much greater perspective.

No one can prevent hurricanes, but prosperous communities are much better able to withstand them than poor ones.

FEMA has lost its focus, and Floridians know first-hand of the agency's shortcomings, .. Natural disaster preparedness and response programs have become trapped in a homeland security bureaucracy.

The monstropolous beast had left his bed. The two hundred miles a hour wind had loosed his chains. He seized hold of his dikes and ran forward until he met the quarters; uprooted them like grass and rushed on after his supposed-to-be conquerors, rolling the dikes, rolling the houses, rolling the people in the houses along with other timbers. The sea was walking the earth with a heavy heel.

Flooding is the most urgent issue that Houstonians are facing.

I sympathize with the victims of Hurricane Sandy and believe that those who purchased flood insurance should have their claims paid.

I was living out on Long Island in Baldwin, New York when Hurricane Sandy hit. With the storm surge, the whole first floor of our house was under about three feet of water. We lost a lot of valuable stuff - sentimental stuff like pictures and Christmas ornaments. Nobody expected flooding that bad.

I was in middle school when Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989. I still remember the sounds from that night and the challenges of recovering.

South Floridians, we can relate to storms where you just brace and hold your breath and even when you're holding your breath you know the worst is coming.

Severe weather can come at any time, and millions of people are impacted by storms each year. Truly, the best defense against severe weather is for families to create an emergency plan, practice that plan, and always stay alert and ready.

When we had the hurricanes - Hurricane Harvey - we gave 80,000 pillows down there.