Preparedness in Action: Getting Ready for Hurricane Season with Team Rubicon
By Christina Contreras (Alfaro), Disaster Preparedness & Climate Resilience Department Project Manager
As the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season approaches, now is the time to focus on readiness. In my role as the Disaster Preparedness and Climate Resilience Projects Manager for WID, I work every day to promote whole community access and inclusive resilience. But preparedness doesn’t end when the workday does.
As a member of Team Rubicon, I spent this week volunteering with their Logistics Section in Middle Tennessee, conducting a deployment trailer full inventory, ahead of the upcoming hurricane season. These trailers are critical tools—fully stocked with supplies and equipment ready to deploy at a moment’s notice when disaster strikes. This kind of preparation can mean the difference between chaos and coordinated response.
Engaging in this volunteer work reinforces what I see every day. Preparedness saves lives, especially for people with disabilities, older adults, and others who are often disproportionately impacted by disaster.
Why It Matters
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and forecasts this year anticipate heightened activity. Hurricanes can bring not just wind and water, but power outages, transportation barriers, and disruptions in access to medical care and critical assistive technology.
Preparedness isn’t just about the storm—it’s about ensuring everyone can recover with dignity, safety, and support. Leave no one behind.
What You Can Do to Prepare
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Make a Personal Emergency Plan
Include your evacuation route, communication methods, and key contacts. Think about your needs—medications, mobility devices, service animals, your network of support, etc. -
Assemble a Supply Kit
Stock up on foods you eat, water, batteries, chargers, medical items, and any critical technology. Keep important documents like your identification, doctors phone numbers, etc. in a waterproof folder or stored digitally in a safe remote location. -
Stay Informed
Sign up for emergency alerts and notifications in your area and follow reliable sources like your local emergency management agency and the National Hurricane Center. Know which information sources have accessible messaging that is meaningful to you. -
Connect With Others
Reach out to neighbors, friends, and loved ones—especially those who might need extra help preparing or evacuating, and those you are expecting to receive help from. There are many things people with disabilities can do to help their community be more resilient. -
Remember Your Role
Remember that you and your neighbors will probably be your very first responder before someone in a uniform arrives. Be ready to take action
Preparedness is personal—and it’s powerful. Whether you're organizing supplies in a trailer or helping a neighbor build a go-bag, every action counts. People with disabilities can and should be both prepared and ready to respond. This hurricane season, let’s each take a step toward stronger, more inclusive resilience, have a plan and be prepared.
Stay safe. Stay ready.
About Christina:
Christina Alfaro is the Project Manager for Emergency, Disaster and Climate Resilience at WID.
As a native Texan with family from both sides of the border, Christina applies her bilingual, cross cultural, and interrelation skills to her professional career. As a US Army veteran, Christina also applies a robust perseverance, tactical problem solving and team collaborative approach to projects and to every task and thrives in both team collaboration and independent work situations to reach the goal. She received her BA in Administrative Arts and Organizational Development where she mastered her ability to coordinate and organize productive action and produces positive outcomes for the team.
For the last six years, Christina has provided project coordination for multiple FEMA Continuing Training Grant course development and delivery projects, staffing for case management, clinician, medical staff and responder deployment cadres and deployed as part of an Incident Management Team. In this capacity Christina has filled command and general staff positions on deployment, to include Staffing Coordinator, Recruiter, worked in the Finance Section and as Logistics Section Chief.
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