FEMA urges people in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to prepare now for more tropical trouble

AccuWeather

AccuWeather caught up with David Warrington, the Region 2 administrator for FEMA, to discuss how the agency is responding to Debby and how people should prepare for Tropical Storm Ernesto.

Transcript

00:00Days after Debbie left its mark here in the continuous U.S., we're watching the next system

00:06which could bring impacts to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Joining us to help

00:11make sure you're prepared is FEMA Region 2 Administrator David Warrington. Thank you so

00:17much, David, for joining us. Thank you, Brie. Good to be here. Thank you. We'll get right down to it.

00:23Can you provide a quick update on FEMA's response to Debbie?

00:29Sure. So President Biden recently granted emergency declarations for Florida, Georgia,

00:34South Carolina, and North Carolina. And on Saturday, August 10th, Florida was granted a

00:40major disaster declaration. We at FEMA continue to support all the states impacted by Debbie from

00:45Florida all the way up to Vermont. Currently, we have hundreds of FEMA staff and federal partners

00:51deployed in response to that storm and remain in coordination with all of our states and our

00:56tribal nations that are still processing the aftermath of the storm. And we're fully prepared

01:01to support those requests as needed. Now, we here at AccuWeather have been forecasting a supercharged

01:07hurricane season, and we're already looking at the next system that may bring impacts to the

01:11U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. What should people be doing to prepare?

01:17We just urge residents and visitors to the territories in the Caribbean to prepare now

01:27and pay attention to their local authorities. History has shown that with this storm specifically,

01:36it's moving very quickly. The track of the storm may change slightly. The intensity of the storm

01:42may ramp up. So the more you know, the better the decision-making can be for you and your family.

01:50And really to pay attention to the local authorities, they will have the best available

01:55information for how to navigate the aftermath of this kind of storm. Specifically, I would

02:04encourage folks to make a plan, have a plan. Don't wait till the last minute. Think about

02:09things like extended power outages. If you need batteries, if you have certain medications that

02:15require refrigeration, if you have family members, whether they're elderly, whether they're infants,

02:21including pets, they all may have specific needs. And to think through

02:25a lot of that as you develop the plan for your family. Last thing I'll mention,

02:31which always comes up, is generators. Generators are tremendously useful for people,

02:36especially if power goes out. But ensuring the safe operation of those generators is paramount.

02:41Making sure they're at least 20 feet away from windows, doors, and attached garages,

02:45and to make sure the generator is dry and protected from rain and flooding.

02:51Thank you so much. That's great advice. FEMA Region 2 Administrator David

02:55Warrington, thank you again for joining us. Thank you.

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