logo-newlogo-newlogo-newlogo-new
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Audit Trail Academy
  • Advisory Services
  • Books
✕
  • Home
  • Chambers on Internal Audit
  • Uncategorized
  • My Personal Risk Management Journey Through Hurricane Irma

My Personal Risk Management Journey Through Hurricane Irma

COSO ERM Update: A Vital Tool in 21st Century Risk Management
September 6, 2017
When It Comes to Cyber Breaches, Just Stop Digging
September 19, 2017
September 13, 2017

My blog post is a bit delayed this week because of the unwelcome​ visit to Central Florida by Hurricane Irma. Like the thousands of people in Texas affected recently by Hurricane Harvey, families in several areas of South Florida, particularly the Florida Keys, face weeks and months of rebuilding. And, sadly, there were losses of life, though thankfully it was limited.

I am relieved that, despite widespread power outages, flooding, and property damage, our IIA Headquarters staff emerged safely from the storm and our offices reopened today to serve our global members.

It is often said that we manage risks every day in our personal lives. Whether we are deciding on insurance coverage for our homes or automobiles or investment strategies for retirement, we are constantly evaluating potential risks and making decisions that will mitigate them based on our personal appetites for risks.

As I reflect on the past week, I can’t help but think about all of the decisions I made in preparation for the potential arrival of Hurricane Irma. While I was consciously thinking about risks, or defining or making decisions as I do as a CEO in my professional capacity, I was nonetheless very much in a risk management mode not unlike that modeled on a corporate level by COSO or ISO.

I recognize that I was guided by an overarching objective: to weather the looming hurricane as safely and comfortably as possible with minimal property damage. Every key decision I made was guided by the potential risks that could undermine that overall objective. In the end, I made a number of crucial decisions that turned out to be prudent. And, as is often the case in the world of business, I made a few costly decisions to minimize risks that, fortunately, didn’t materialize.

Let’s take a look back at the week that was:

  • On Sunday, Sept. 3, weather forecasters were raising the prospect that Irma would take a track that would bring it very close to Florida. Given the size of the storm, and the fresh images of Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Houston, everyone’s antennas naturally went up. During a routine visit to a nearby supermarket, I decided that I would secure some extra bottled water. Using risk management jargon, I assessed the likelihood of a direct hit by Irma to Central Florida at that time as low, but the potential impact given the size of the storm as high. I grabbed three cases of water in the midst of panic buying that would only grow more frantic as the storm got closer.
  • As Monday and Tuesday passed, the forecasted track of the storm was becoming more ominous. A direct hit on Florida by what was at that time a Category 5 hurricane looked increasingly likely. By day, I was sequestered with IIA Headquarters leadership making risk management decisions for the organization. After work hours, my wife and I went about managing risks on the home front. We continued to secure water and food in anticipation of a prolonged recovery period. I fueled up both of our vehicles in case we needed to evacuate. By this point, the potential impact was high — and growing daily.
  • On Wednesday, I purchased a generator for our home. One of the most significant impacts of a major hurricane is the potential loss of electrical power. The last time a major hurricane hit Central Florida, many were without power for a week or more. This turned out to be one of the wisest decisions of the week.
  • On Thursday, we announced that IIA Headquarters would close the next day and on Monday, and I headed to a nearby beach community to prepare our vacation home for the approaching storm. Our home there is equipped with aluminum hurricane shutters, which have to be manually assembled. It was a lot of work in hot and humid conditions, but given the potential for catastrophic impact on property near the Atlantic beaches, I was compelled to mitigate the risks through every means at my disposal. Once finished, I headed back to Central Florida, where deep concern was truly setting in over the forecasted track of the storm.
  • By Friday, Irma’s track was looking better for inland Central Florida, albeit not for other areas of the state. A more westerly movement was now likely, forecasters predicted, but Central Florida could still endure a lot of damage. The storm was only one day away, and I joined many others in foraging for even more water, food, and other essentials that still might be needed in its wake. Gas, already in short supply, was increasingly scarce, but I was able to secure enough to power the generator for at least 24 hours in the event we lost electrical power.
  • Saturday was surreal. The hurricane was marching through the Florida Straits, lashing both the South Florida and North Cuba coasts. A forecasted turn hadn’t yet occurred, so the precise track still couldn’t be determined. Meanwhile, aided by our daughter and her husband, we secured all of our patio and lawn furniture and moved plants and anything else that wasn’t tied down indoors.
  • By Sunday morning, I became convinced that the potential for loss of power was now extremely likely. Up until that point, I had held out the possibility that the new generator wouldn’t be needed, so it remained in the box. But on Sunday I pulled it out and and assembled it for its likely use. By the afternoon, the winds were noticeably stronger. Irma was delivering a devastating blow to the Florida Keys, but it still looked likely to trek up the west coast of Florida, which would be good news for Central Florida. Then, like the devastating Hurricane Charley 13 years earlier, the storm turned more inland. It began heading due north after crossing Naples in Southwest Florida. We were now in the crosshairs.
  • On Sunday evening, the winds became deafening, and we could do nothing more than watch and listen. Then, at 10:45 p.m., we lost electrical power as I had feared. Thank goodness for the generator, I thought to myself. Fortunately, we escaped a direct hit as the center of the storm passed just to the west of our home sometime around 2 a.m. Monday morning. But we still received damaging winds and rains. By 7 a.m., a weakened storm had moved well north, and I navigated through debris outside my house to assess the damage. Our neighborhood was hit hard, with trees laid across the streets. We would not be going anywhere soon. But thanks to our generator, we were able to meet our essential power needs.
  • By Tuesday morning, power had been restored — much earlier than I had feared, especially when I learned nearly a million people in Central Florida still were without. The roads were cleared, so we headed off to check on our vacation home. There, we found more damage than in inland Central Florida, but nothing serious. The shutters had held, and I am confident they saved several windows and the interior of the house — another risk management decision that turned out to be wise.

I’m sharing my experiences to illustrate how natural it is to manage risks when faced with a potential crisis. Throughout the week, I was faced with crucial decisions. Should we evacuate, or stay behind and weather the storm? Should I spend money on a generator, or take my chances that we would not lose electrical power? Should I dedicate an afternoon to installing hurricane shutters, or hope the storm would take a westerly track and miss the eastern Florida coast?

As in the world of business, I can now look back on the week and reflect on the decisions I made. Some were prudent, some were not. For example, we ended up with much more bottled water than we needed, but we will use it eventually. Overall, I was pleased with the way I managed the risks. My objective was met: We weathered Hurricane Irma “as safely and comfortably as possible with minimal property damage.”

I would like to hear your experiences on managing risks on a personal basis.

Share

Related posts

March 13, 2023

New IIA Report Is a Timely Benchmarking Resource for Internal Auditors


Read more
May 16, 2022

THE STAGGERING TOLL OF COVID RELIEF FRAUD: WHERE WERE THE THREE LINES?


Read more
February 3, 2022

To Live a Life in Color, You May Have to Change Channels


Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

What’s Trending

03-20-23

New Report Reveals Surprising Insights from Internal Audit Executives


03-13-23

New IIA Report Is a Timely Benchmarking Resource for Internal Auditors


03-02-23

6 Things Audit Committee Members Often Won’t Say to Internal Audit


Read More

Archive

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009

Contact Us

PO Box 1441
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170

+1-407-463-9389
rchambers@richardchambers.com

About AuditBeacon.com

AuditBeacon.com is a resource center for internal auditors and risk professionals from around the world. In addition to more than 500 blogs authored by Richard Chambers, the site includes links to news and insights on internal audit and other information that illuminates the value of this important profession. AuditBeacon.com is provided as a service by Richard F. Chambers and Associates, LLC.

Copyright © 2023 Richard F. Chambers & Associates. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Audit Trail Academy
  • Advisory Services
  • Books