The reaction of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority to tropical storm Barry is a model to follow

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I do not write this article because my wife is a member of the organization. & Nbsp; I wanted to highlight Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, as it provides a model of how organizations should respond to extreme weather events. The sorority proactively canceled the rest of her national convention at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Friday so members, their families, their suppliers and others could leave New Orleans.. In the true spirit of the organization, who prides himself on fraternity and service, the organization also donated 17,000 meals, probably already purchased for convention-related events, at the Second Harvest Food Bank & nbsp;according to the reports.& nbsp; That's why I wanted to emphasize their answer.

In 2013, I was president of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the country's largest professional organization focused on meteorological, atmospheric, climate and related sciences. As a scientist and teacher, it was a highlight of my career being elected by my peers. One of the hallmarks of my tenure: set the theme and plan the annual meeting of AMS, a weeklong international conference bringing together several thousand scientists, salespeople, media, students and curious audiences. I am fully aware of the logistics, costs and effort required to organize sessions, banquets and convention activities for a week. It is not trivial or optimal to interrupt a conference or convention. Delta Sigma Theta did just that. Friday morning, on his official Twitter site, the organization tweeted:

After consulting with the mayor of New Orleans and others about the expectations of Tropical Storm Barry, the 54th National Convention will end on Friday, July 12, according to an announcement by Beverly E. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer. national direction last night. & Nbsp; # DSTconvention2019 # DST1913

Delta Sigma Theta ("the deltas") is one of the nine historically African-American sororities and fraternities. I am a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated ("The Alphas"). Unlike the mental model of Greek collegiate life that you may have engraved in your mind, organizations like ours are strongly anchored in service, leadership development, community action and fraternal bonds. Activities are less focused on campus homes, parties and the concept of "rushing." Another very unique aspect of our organizations is that members are generally active and engaged after graduate school through graduate chapters. This year, more than 16,000 Delta Sigma Theta members, students and graduates, went to New Orleans, Louisiana, according to a report posted on the CBS46 Atlanta website.& nbsp; Many of them probably did not know the impacts of the tropical storm or hurricane and the unique flood risks associated with a place like New Orleans. The security considerations and logistics associated with leaving the city justified a bold move.

By the time I write this Saturday morning, Tropical Storm Barry (pictured above) was about to become a Category 1 hurricane. Really, it does not matter whether it is the case or not. It's a strong tropical storm that will flood the region with 10 to 20 inches of rainfall. Because of the unique topographic features of New Orleans (it is essentially a bowl), floods are inevitable. Barry is a slow system, which increases the risk of dangerous floods until Sunday. The storm will also include tropical winds and possible hurricane bursts. It's going to be a mess. In fact, the city of New Orleans asked people to stay there& nbsp; at this stage.

I consider the action of Delta Sigma Theta as daring, because often people or organizations use the plan to "hope" or "expect to see" make arrangements. the recent tragedy of duck boat in Missouri or the Sugarland concert in Indiana several years There are reminders that not acting proactively on available weather information can have tragic consequences. In the era of modern weather forecasts and their technology, "hope is not a credible plan." & Nbsp;In 2018, the American Meteorological Society issued a statement in which it was said:

Awareness of the situation can be compromised when dangerous weather conditions threaten and, in the worst case, loss of life has occurred. In addition, at many indoor events and almost all outdoors, life-threatening weather protection options are limited or non-existent. In the United States, every year, the dangerous climate kills spectators in entertainment venues, and litigation exceeds tens of millions of dollars … A recurring theme in the monitoring reports and service assessments for these disasters is that the weather plan was: inadequate to deal with a complete weather risk portfolio, or a weather plan did not exist. In many cases, the organizers simply "hoped we would not be affected.

On the website of Delta Sigma Theta, it says "Intelligence is the torch of wisdom." The Deltas did not hope, they trusted science and acted. Congratulations to them.

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I do not write this article because my wife is a member of the organization. I wanted to highlight Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, as they provide a model of how organizations should respond to extreme weather events. The sorority canceled Friday the rest of its national convention at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center so that members, their families, their suppliers and others could leave New Orleans. In the true spirit of the organization, which is proud of its fraternal relations and services, the organization has also donated 17,000 meals, probably already purchased for events related to the convention, to the Second Harvest Food Bank, according to press reports. Here's why I wanted to highlight their answer.

In 2013, I was president of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the largest professional organization in the country, specializing in the fields of meteorology, atmosphere, climate and science related. As a scientist and teacher, it was a highlight of my career being elected by my peers. One of the hallmarks of my tenure: set the theme and plan the annual meeting of AMS, a weeklong international conference bringing together several thousand scientists, salespeople, media, students and curious audiences. I am fully aware of the logistics, costs and effort required to organize sessions, banquets and convention activities for a week. It is not trivial or optimal to interrupt a conference or convention. Delta Sigma Theta did just that. Friday morning, on his official Twitter site, the organization tweeted:

After consulting with the mayor of New Orleans and others about the expectations of Tropical Storm Barry, the 54th National Convention will end on Friday, July 12, according to an announcement by Beverly E. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer. national direction last night. # DSTconvention2019 # DST1913

Delta Sigma Theta ("the Deltas") is one of nine historically African-American sororities and fraternities. I am a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated ("The Alphas"). Unlike the mental model of Greek collegiate life that you may have engraved in your mind, organizations like ours are strongly anchored in service, leadership development, community action and fraternal bonds. Activities are less focused on campus homes, parties and the concept of "rush". Another very unique aspect of our organizations is that members are generally active and engaged after graduate school through graduate chapters. This year, more than 16,000 Delta Sigma Theta members, students and graduates, went to New Orleans, Louisiana, according to a report posted on the CBS46 Atlanta website. Many of them were probably unaware of the impacts of the tropical storm or hurricane and the unique flood risks associated with a place like New Orleans. The security considerations and logistics associated with leaving the city justified a bold move.

By the time I write this Saturday morning, Tropical Storm Barry (pictured above) was about to become a Category 1 hurricane. Really, it does not matter whether it is the case or not. It's a strong tropical storm that will flood the region with 10 to 20 inches of rainfall. Because of the unique topographic features of New Orleans (it is essentially a bowl), floods are inevitable. Barry is a slow system, which increases the risk of dangerous floods until Sunday. The storm will also include tropical winds and possible hurricane bursts. It's going to be a mess. In fact, the city of New Orleans has asked people to take shelter there at this stage.

I consider the action of Delta Sigma Theta as daring, because often people or organizations use the plan "hope" or "expect to see" to take action. The recent Duck Boat tragedy in Missouri or the Sugarland concert in Indiana, several years ago, recall that not acting proactively based on available weather information can have tragic consequences. In the era of modern weather forecasts and their technology, "hope is not a credible plan". In 2018, the American Meteorological Society issued a statement in which it was said:

Awareness of the situation can be compromised when dangerous weather conditions threaten and, in the worst case, loss of life has occurred. In addition, at many indoor events and almost all outdoors, life-threatening weather protection options are limited or non-existent. In the United States, every year, the dangerous climate kills spectators in entertainment venues, and litigation exceeds tens of millions of dollars … A recurring theme in the monitoring reports and service assessments for these disasters is that the weather plan was: inadequate to deal with a complete weather risk portfolio, or a weather plan did not exist. In many cases, the organizers simply "hoped we would not be affected.

On the Delta Sigma Theta website, it is stated that "intelligence is the torch of wisdom". The Deltas did not hope, they trusted science and acted. Congratulations to them.