5 Days to Landfall

Living along the Pacific Ocean in South Carolina, most people know how to prepare for hurricanes. Their communities understand the potential disaster and work well to minimize the amount of damage to the communities. They know that nature always wins. These communities almost can write a book about storm preparedness including evacuations.

Not all cities near the Pacific Ocean are that way, especially those further north. For New York City, a hurricane was recorded in 1821. In 1938 another one devastated the area fifty-five miles east of Manhattan.
Since the Northeast seldom experiences hurricanes, they are not prepared. Hurricane Sandy could have caused exponentially more damage. These communities were not prepared then and still lack a plan for this possible disaster.

5 Days to Landfall is a fictional account of what could happen if a hurricane struck this highly congested area. Infused into this thrilling novel is authentic science interlaced with history, real technology, and political realism.

Amanda Cole works at the nation's Hurricane Center as a forecaster. She is one of the meteorologists who study every aspect of each storm and based on the information from several forecasting models, predicts the paths and intensities of these possible hurricanes. She has the responsibility of notifying cities if they are in the path of destruction.

This enormous burden is complicated. No community wants to shut down, especially if the storm diverts at the last minute. Many will only close and evacuate residents only if they are one hundred percent confident. In the Carolinas, people understand. In the Northeast, with few tropical storms becoming a hurricane and causing destruction, most just ignore the warnings.

Like many people, Amanda daily excels with a challenging life raising her daughter, Sarah. Her ex-husband shares the curious youngster just two weeks a year. These are difficult times for Amanda during this short separation.

Amanda knows that this particular storm will hit the York City area. Her daughter is in the area with her ex-husband while her father resides near the ocean at a retirement home. Who should be taken to safety first? Strangely, someone is playing the stock market prices; specifically, insurance companies who work with communities in these possible areas. With no plan in place for this disaster, the politicians refuse to inform their constituents of the impending danger. She is also aware of the numerous homeless will not have a chance to survive while living in the tunnel system around the subways under the city.

The author, Robert Roy Britt, is a journalist who has authored a mystery series featuring Eli Quinn in Closure, Drone, and First Kill along with the prequel, Murder Mountain.

5 Days to Landfall masterfully blends a fictional thriller with science and history. Britt weaves a page-turner while educating the reader about past hurricanes, the science of hurricanes, a guide to surviving during these storms, and even a little research into preparing a home for these attacks. All of this, as well as interspersing political corruption, thrills, romance, and realism are thrown into an actual political meltdown.

Great realistic perspective of hurricane from various people in a multitude of roles.

[By Teri Schonberg]

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