As this develops, it is important to track the path of this thing. You can follow the NOAA or you can do that, and read what the weather nerds/bloggers have to say. Getting the basic information is one thing, but getting the correct analysis of this information is a little tougher. It is a prediction game and to have a consensus amongst the experts is far better that just paying attention to one source. That’s of course if you have the time. So here are a few of the blogs out there that cover weather events like this.
One interesting thing about all of this is the oil threat. If these hurricanes screw with oil and gas production, and Russia cuts off the oil and gas in their neck of the woods because of events in Georgia, we could see a huge uptick in Gas prices. I have been hearing 5 dollars plus here in the US, just with the hurricane stuff. I am sure in Europe it will be even higher.
Also, if any of you guys are deploying as a security specialist for this hurricane, feel free to contact me about any questions for this kind of work. I worked for FEMA back in 2004 for that hurricane season and I also worked as a security specialist in 2005 during hurricane Katrina. One bit of advice is to wash your hands before eating anything and stay out of the water as much as possible. Bring several pairs of waders, because chemicals in the water could easily destroy your waders. Bring filtration stuff and do not trust the tap water–drink bottled water only! Cabelas sell waders for about sixty dollars. And please be cool with the local residents. The last thing we need are guys doing stupid things in NOLA and giving security contractors a bad name. When I was there, it was one of my main priorities to connect with the locals and let them know why we were there and what we were all about.