Oklahoma City Hosts 3rd Annual National Tornado Summit

Insurance industry professionals, emergency managers, policymakers and weather experts are invited to attend the 3rd annual National Tornado Summit in Oklahoma City Feb. 10-11.

The National Tornado Summit includes dedicated tracks for insurance producers, insurance adjusters, emergency managers and meteorologists. General Sessions will offer information beneficial to all attendees. The Summit will begin with a panel discussion of lessons learned from violent tornadoes. The panel will include mayors from Tuscaloosa and Moore.

For the second straight year, the Summit will also include the National Severe Weather Workshop. The breakout sessions, organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will address communication challenges during Oklahoma’s May tornadoes, storm safety in schools, possible improvements to the enhanced Fujita scale and more. The summit also includes a tour of the National Weather Center and the Storm Prediction Center, which monitors severe weather for 48 states.

The National Tornado Summit is an educational forum that provides attendees with the knowledge they need to excel in their field. Confirmed speakers include:

• Mike Bettes – The Emmy Award-winning meteorologist from the Weather Channel will describe the day a record-setting twister left major damage in Oklahoma and crushed his storm-chasing vehicle.
• Bob Hartwig – The president of the Insurance Information Institute will discuss insurance trends and challenges in an era of climate volatility.
• Tanya Brown, Ph.D. – The research engineer for the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety will teach insurance adjusters how to win the war on hail.
• Larry Tanner – The researcher with the National Wind Institute will share his assessment of safe rooms used during the May 20th tornado in Moore, Okla.
• Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox – The community leaders will share the lessons they learned after facing two of the worst tornadoes in U.S. history.

The National Tornado Summit is hosted by the Oklahoma Insurance Department, University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma Emergency Management, National Weather Center, NOAA, Storm Prediction Center and National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Source: Oklahoma Insurance Department

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Oklahoma