"Weather Ready Nation" Conference Underway

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The important conference to build a more Weather Ready Nation is underway in Norman, Oklahoma.
Dr. Jane Lubchenko, head of NOAA

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallon

Because of the importance of this topic, given the extreme weather events of 2011, we had the head of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration via videoconference and the Governor of Oklahoma address us.

There are a couple of topics that have already been surprising, at least to me. Take a look at the trend of tornado fatalities. The

The deaths in permanent homes are a very, very low number. Whereas mobile homes, which have a 15 to 20 times higher rate of tornado deaths (per Dr. Harold Brooks' presentation), we see little progress in cutting tornado deaths.

So, we have clearly "tamed the weather" for people in permanent homes but -- as previously stated on this blog -- we must find effective ways of sheltering people in non-traditional housing.

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