When a hurricane threatens, the strength of your organization’s plan can mean the difference between safety and chaos. But how do you know if your Severe Weather Preparedness Plan will actually work when it matters most? The answer lies in practice—and evaluation.

Our Hurricane Exercise Evaluation guide provides a structured way to test your organization’s readiness through simulated hurricane scenarios. By walking through step-by-step assessments before, during and after an exercise, leaders can identify weaknesses, improve coordination and ensure that critical procedures will hold up under pressure.

Why Conduct an Evaluation?

Hurricane exercises reveal whether your team can respond quickly, communicate clearly and carry out assigned responsibilities in the face of an emergency. Without regular practice, even the best-written plan may fall short. This resource equips organizations to measure their preparedness in real time, so gaps can be addressed before a storm ever arrives.

What the Guide Covers

The evaluation framework is divided into three stages:

• Pre-exercise assessment. Before starting, ensure that responsibilities are clearly assigned, decision-making processes are defined and materials like shutters, hardware and first-aid supplies are accessible. Training staff and volunteers ahead of time is essential, as is confirming procedures for fully securing buildings and grounds.
• During-exercise assessment. This stage measures whether critical actions are completed, such as shutting off utilities, securing valuables, moving equipment to higher ground and fastening shutters. It also checks whether exterior hazards—like loose objects that could become projectiles—are eliminated and whether evacuation or sheltering decisions are carried out effectively.
• Post-exercise assessment. After the simulation, leaders review whether decisions were made in time, assignments were completed and the property was fully secured. This stage also emphasizes final walk-throughs of both the interior and exterior, reporting back from team members and evaluating whether the overall response would be sufficient in a real hurricane.

Turning Lessons into Action

The resource doesn’t just help you identify problems; it encourages you to take the next step by documenting observations, assigning responsibility for improvements and tracking progress. Conducting multiple exercises over time allows organizations to measure improvement and build confidence in their ability to respond to future storms.

Why Download the Full Guide?

This preview only scratches the surface. The complete Hurricane Exercise Evaluation guide provides comprehensive checklists for each stage of an exercise, making it easy to standardize your evaluation process and ensure nothing is overlooked. With its structured format, organizations can move beyond theory into actionable preparedness that protects both people and property.