As a Midwesterner, I have very little experience with natural disasters — or at least the kind that can be life-altering in the worst way. 

My Experience with (Not too Damaging) Disasters

Growing up in northern Indiana, a couple tornadoes swirled around town, doing no more damage than tearing down a few trees, which of course fell on power lines, and scattering debris around. 

When I moved to Fargo, North Dakota, I lived through two new-to-me weather events. Annual winter blizzards — always a couple that produced white-out conditions but posed no real threat since schools, businesses, and highways closed. Then, in the transition from winter to spring, came the annual floods. Every year as the snowfall melted, it trickled into the Red River (one of the only rivers that flows North, btw!) and rose. Only one small low spot in town was usually affected with an easy reroute, and it became old hat.

However, in spring 2009, the annual Fargo flood was not typical. The river flooded as always, but as we watched its crest predictions, it rose higher and higher and higher thanks to the timing of the thaw and extra precipitation. It began to threaten the city’s downtown, which is positioned just along the river. Roads, bridges, and some homes were swallowed. Many were evacuated and more were on standby. Residents from the entire metro — and National Guard — came together in an inspiring and grueling effort to sandbag and protect the town from the rising waters (the city later funded a diversion). 

At the time, I worked for the local newspaper, and remember having to park further away than usual and step over sandbags to get in the building. It was eerie when it was no longer business as usual and streets were empty. Three people lost their lives, some homes were demolished, and road damage was extensive. But, compared to other disasters across the country, we were lucky.

Reading reports on the LA fires last January and watching footage from too many hurricanes lately has been gut-wrenching. With such widespread devastation and loss, you begin to remember humans’ mortality and how little control we sometimes have. It was hard to watch from afar, and I’ll likely never begin to know the fear that plagued those experiencing it firsthand.

A Guide to Disaster Planning

You'll soon probably notice that the June-July 2025 issue of SBF looks a little different than normal. The reason why lies in what happens during natural disasters like these. 

Our parent company’s executive leadership strongly believes in supporting our audiences with information that not only helps them perform their jobs better and increases efficiency, but can also be life-saving. That’s of course, our mission here at SBF, too.

We know that there is much to learn from others’ experiences, and that’s exactly what we seek to do in our next special summer issue. So, we teamed up with our sister magazines to produce a report on natural disaster preparedness. To tell the stories of various fleets’ experiences and share what they learned that may help someone else navigate things like fueling, vehicle readiness, facilities and operations, people and community coordination, and connectivity.

So, in the front half of your hard copy of SBF, you’ll find the usual. But flip it around and see a special guide spanning multiple industries. This report will also be available online in June, and in the print issues of Heavy-Duty Trucking, METRO, Work Truck, Automotive Fleet, Government Fleet, and more. We thank AT&T for their support of this edition.

In our June-July issue, you’ll also find a special feature on how hurricanes, floods, and fires have impacted school transportation operations. 

Despite the burden that ruined buses and routing pivots can have on what we do, the yellow bus can also serve as a beacon of hope. There are countless stories of how school buses have saved the day in the face of disaster, transporting people to safe shelter or helping with storm cleanup efforts. In these moments, the school bus is more than just a vehicle — it’s a symbol of resilience and community.

We hope this special issue not only informs, but empowers you to prepare, protect, and respond with the same courage and compassion we’ve seen time and again.

If you’ve lived through a natural disaster and want to share your experience or think we missed some important tips, please email me at amanda.huggett@bobit.com.

P.S. Seats are filling up fast for our 2025 SBFX event in September in Arizona. I would love to meet you there, and operators can attend for free! Please apply to attend before it’s too late.