| On October 7th and 8th, 2016, Hurricane Matthew made landfall southwest of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Hurricane Matthew had a direct effect on counties in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. The president, state governors, and local leaders warned residents of the dangers of the incoming storm days before the hurricane making landfall. The same leaders called for and gave the evacuation order for all non-essential personnel to evacuate from the protected areas. The decisions to evacuate in the wake of Hurricane Matthew were based on lessons learned from past hurricanes. Each hurricane offers a lesson learned to emergency managers, and implementation of lessons learned is often a difference in saving lives. Researchers have examined many of the aspects of the disaster decisions process and the education of emergency managers and staff. Initial studies of peer reviewed journal articles included the pre-position of resources and coordination between areas affected by disasters. The research in this project led to the identification of additional lessons learned, methods of coordination between emergency managers, and improving the decision-making process. |
