NAHANT — The Emergency Management Department traveled to West Palm Beach, Fla. for the Governor’s Hurricane Conference, with the goal of better equipping the town with the knowledge and resources to combat hurricanes.
The Emergency Management crew is led by Director Timothy Furlong, who is also the chief of the town’s Police Department; Assistant Director Mike Halley; and Assistant Carl Maccario. The trio presented what they learned at the conference to the Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator Tony Barletta.
Based on discussions with the National Weather Service at the conference, Maccario said that Nahant is unfortunately at high risk of being impacted by hurricanes.
“They live this down there and they got this down to a science,” Maccario said. “They had no idea where Nahant was and we showed them and they said, ‘You guys are in trouble because you’re not on the coast, you’re out in the water.’”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued its most aggressive Atlantic forecast since 1999 for 2024, which includes a projection of up to 25 hurricanes.
The trio named one of the biggest takeaways of the conference as the importance of establishing a Community Emergency Response Team. CERT is a nationally recognized program implemented by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to Furlong, Nahant is the first municipality on the North Shore to establish a CERT. He gave credit to Halley for training the 15 volunteer residents on the team. Maccario said that some members hold medical occupations.
“The shelter would be a crucial part of that CERT team operation,” Maccario said.
The pair emphasized that preparation for a hurricane is especially important for Nahant because of the potential of the causeway becoming inaccessible.
“If we have an issue with the causeway being closed… we have to be self-sustaining and we need a force multiplier,” Maccario said.
The Emergency Management’s Operation Center can be reached for non-emergency calls at 781-771-2121.
