Disasters Expo USA Returns to Miami with Resounding Success
On March 6th & 7th, Disasters Expo USA returned to the Miami Beach Convention Center for the 2024 edition of the conference, dedicated to fostering disaster resilience in the international community. Across the event, over 4,700 professionals congregated at the event for two days of networking, education, and showcases from some of the industry’s leading innovators.
The event began with a rousing opening ceremony, hosted by Eric Letvin, Deputy Assistant Administrator of Mitigation at FEMA. He delivered some inspiring words and greeted visitors from countless disaster management jobs as they entered the convention center. Soon after, Letvin transitioned into the Keynote Theater to deliver the first of many engaging seminars throughout the event.
His talk was focused on the different pre and post-disaster grant programs that FEMA offers through their HMA branch, but it was only the start with countless other core topics explored across the event. Other notable seminars included ones focused on the importance of strong team building, the role of space-bound Earth observations, and hurricane risk mitigation, among many others.
With speakers from NASA, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, The World Bank, along with various other institutions, visitors were treated to some truly high-level insights.
Another highlight of the event was its Awards Ceremony, in which three businesses in three different categories were crowned as winners against several nominees. The categories included Most Innovative Technology, Life Saving Solution of The Year, and Cost-Effective Mitigation Product of The Year.
The title of Most Innovative Technology was awarded to Tsunami Products, known internationally as the largest manufacturer of Atmospheric Water Generators (AWGs) in North America. Their technology is currently making waves in the fight against water scarcity, with AWGs essentially making water from the particles found in the air.
The Life Saving Solution of The Year award was presented to another business working for stronger water infrastructure, Sustainable H20 Solutions. They were awarded the accolade for their development of water treatment technology for cleaning dirty water and making it safe for human consumption – from dirty floodwater to buckets drawn straight out of the sea.
HCI Energy was awarded the title of Cost-Effective Mitigation Product of The Year for their work offering eco-friendly power sources in critical situations. Their off-grid, sustainable, and low-cost power solutions can be used in the aftermath of disasters, ensuring local businesses, community operations, and infrastructure systems aren’t compromised.
Along with the award winners, the expo also hosted hundreds of other exhibiting businesses, encompassing every avenue of disaster management technology and beyond. With everyone from emergency service providers and humanitarian organizations to portable building and storm shelter creators present, visitors were able to get to know a range of businesses better and even source new products.
Perhaps most important was Disasters Expo USA’s success as a business networking event, with countless conversations being had between the thousands of attendees. With any luck, some of these chats will lead to collaborations in disaster resilience, strengthening the international community against intense weather events and seismic activity.
With this year a clear success, it’s no surprise that so many professionals in the international disaster response community are already gearing up for next year’s Miami Beach Convention Center edition, taking place on March 5th & 6th.
However, for many, their eyes are set firmly on Disasters Expo Europe, the intercontinental version of the event taking place on May 15th & 16th 2024 at Messe Frankfurt. For stateside professionals, the next event will be Disasters Expo USA in California, at the Los Angeles Convention Center on September 5th & 6th. With each event just as packed with content and opportunity, they’re set to be just as successful as this one just passed.
For more information on exhibiting opportunities at Disasters Expo USA, please get in contact with inquiries.ndem@fortem-international.com or call: +1 (212) 480 1110