NBC’s Kerry Sanders has lost count about how many hurricanes he’s covered. Around 60, he figures.
“I think it’s easier to count how many hurricanes I have not covered in Florida since I began my reporting career in 1982,” he told TVNewser. “I have covered hurricanes for NBC News from the Caribbean, as far south as El Salvador and Nicaragua and as far north as Montauk on Long Island,” he said, adding that Mitch (1998), Hugo (1989), and Andrew (1992) were the most historic.
We caught up with Sanders who’s back in Florida preparing to cover Irma after spending several days in South Texas covering Harvey.
“I have learned to hate, but also respect, hurricanes. In this case, Irma is wider than the state. That says it all.”
TVNewser: Having just gotten back from covering Harvey, how would you assess the pre-storm planning?
Sanders: The exhaustion level is not a comfortable feeling for me and my colleagues. Harvey would have been better named Sybil as that hurricane had so many personalities: there was the destruction in Port Lavaca and Rockport that was classic wind and storm surge; there was the flooding and wind damage in Victoria; there was the slow motion flood in Beaumont and Port Arthur (where I was airborne with U.S. Customs), and there were the bayou floods that put much of Houston underwater. I’m tired, and my team members are exhausted. We work sometimes 20 hours in a day on bottled water, apples and granola bars.
You live along the water in Broward County, how are you preparing?
I live on the New River in Ft. Lauderdale and took all day Monday preparing my home. Florida is as much outdoors as it is indoors, so that means all of our outdoor life had to be brought in. I have tables, chairs, etc. all inside my house right now. A buddy from The Miami Herald, who is also my neighbor, helped me race against the clock on Monday night, as I had to travel to Denver for a live report Tuesday there. I then flew out to Nashville for an interview and raced home for Irma. I’ve been going around-the-clock since.
What advice would you give a reporter covering his or her first hurricane?
If this is your first hurricane, and this one is a biggie, please understand: a 150 mph wind can pick up a coconut, and it becomes a missile. If that projectile hits you in the head, you’re not going to survive. It’s like driving your car into a concrete wall. Be careful, and if it’s dangerous, don’t do it. Today, with cell phone video, everyone is a cameraperson, and we will have millions of people sharing what they’ve documented for the nation to fully understand Irma’s terror and power.
What is the one must-have tool in a hurricane reporters’ arsenal?
Sleep (which you can’t have), so make sure you eat well. Do not load up on Skittles and other junk food (a common mistake.) You’ll have a sugar high for Day One and into Day Two, but then you’ll crash. Irma is a long-term story. We have the hurricane to cover and its aftermath too. Play the long-game.
How has social media changed how you report on hurricanes?
Social media allows us to learn details quickly. Confirmation can be a challenge, and in Harvey, there were some false leads. But in a crisis, few people make up stories and create false narratives because that only draws rescue and other resources away, and who would do that?
In your Today show story this morning, Florida AG Pam Bondi was very tough on any price gougers ahead of the storm. In your judgment is the gouging worse this time than in other storms?
I’ve seen it before, and sadly, I’ll see it again. Is it worse? For the family who lives paycheck to paycheck, to be ripped off in a crisis like this reveals an evil that disappointments me. But I also see folks who are helping strangers, so there is a yin to the yang.