Tim Houston On Building A New Model For Hurricane Evacuation

At a Glance

• Tim Houston spent 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, primarily flying C-130 cargo and rescue missions.
• His final military assignment was with NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, coordinating disaster response.
• Priority EVAC offers a proactive membership model for hurricane evacuation rather than last-minute emergency travel.
• The company combines aviation, meteorology, logistics and disaster-response expertise into one evacuation operation.

Every hurricane season, the same scenario plays out across Florida. A storm begins attracting attention, forecasts become increasingly urgent, and suddenly thousands or millions of people start making the same decision: Get out.

The problem is that everyone is making that decision at roughly the same time.

Airports can become constrained. Roads become congested. Commercial flights fill up. Prices rise. Families scramble to figure out where they are going, how they are getting there and what happens to elderly relatives, children and pets. Priority EVAC is taking a different approach. Rather than waiting for a hurricane to create an evacuation crisis, the company has created a membership program designed to establish the evacuation plan before the storm arrives.

At the operational center of that effort is Tim Houston, Priority EVAC's Chief Operating Officer. Houston brings an unusual résumé to a young company: 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, extensive experience flying C-130 aircraft on cargo and rescue missions, and a final assignment with NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, where natural-disaster coordination was part of his responsibilities.

I recently spoke with Houston about Priority EVAC, his military background, and why he believes hurricane preparedness needs to become much more proactive.

Mark Derho: Tell me a little about your background and how you came to Priority EVAC.

Tim Houston: I'm Tim Houston, COO of Priority EVAC. I was in the Air Force for 25 years and served as a pilot, mainly flying C-130s, so I did cargo and rescue and that sort of thing all over the globe. I got to see a lot firsthand when it comes to emergencies and disaster assistance, and what worked well and what didn't over the years.

My final assignment in the Air Force was with NORAD and U.S. NORTHCOM. It was a joint command, and throughout North America we had a lot of work with other federal agencies, making sure we were coordinating on natural disasters and hurricanes in particular.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton were big ones that came through while I was in that position, so I really got a sense of what people need to do and what should be done in the future to improve the experience.

I joined Priority EVAC because I wanted to continue serving as a civilian in that role and really help make sure people are prepared before a natural disaster hits. If something's coming their way, I want to be part of helping them get out of the way and into safety.

Derho: Priority EVAC is a brand-new company. How did this idea come together?

Houston: I've been with Priority EVAC a little over three months now. We just launched the company, so this is our first hurricane season.

It's a new company, but we've got a lot of experienced people. Our founders have deep experience in the insurance industry and helped develop this product and organization. We've also got our Chief Meteorologist, Wally Barnes, who worked at the National Hurricane Center for decades.

Bringing together all this experience in a new company has really been exciting, and I think it's a great program for a lot of Florida residents right now.

Derho: You're describing this as the first membership-based program of its kind. What does membership actually mean?

Houston: It's really about enrolling people who want to take a proactive approach to their hurricane preparedness.

When our members enroll, we start off right away, making sure they understand the program, what they're getting, and how it works. They know that we're 24/7 worrying about this issue for them, taking care of them, and communicating with them.

That's really the idea. Instead of waiting until the storm is in the media and everybody starts thinking about evacuating, you've already got a plan.

Derho: One thing that stood out to me is the combination of partners. You've got aviation, disaster response, and relationships connected to insurance, real estate and property management. Why is that combination important?

Houston: The biggest challenge a lot of people face is that when these storms start to come and get into the media, that's when everybody starts to think about evacuating and leaving.

A lot of times, it's almost too late at that point.

Even prior to landfall, hurricanes can start shutting down airports. So we wanted to create this aviation option.

Our partner, Global Crossing Airlines, or Global X, is out of Miami. They have a family of Airbus A320s that are already in Miami and ready to pre-position. They were a natural partner for us because they're repositioning airplanes anyway when a storm comes.

As a partner, it made a lot of sense for us to use that aviation capacity that's already there to evacuate people prior to the storm.

Then we've got another partner, Project Dynamo, which has executed thousands of rescues across the globe, including war-torn areas and other natural disasters. They're very active in that space, so they're a great logistical ground partner to team with us.

Along with Global X and us together, I think we've made a really powerful team.

Derho: And a portion of the proceeds supports Project Dynamo?

Houston: They are a 501(c) nonprofit, and a portion of the proceeds will go to benefit them so that we can help rescue others who are in need across the world.

That's a huge part of why we love partnering with Dynamo and the mission that they have. They take care of folks all over the world.

Derho: You're initially working with six Florida airports. Why those locations?

Houston: We started with six airports, mainly in South Florida. Statistically, that's where a lot of the hurricane issues have hit, so it was a natural place to start.

We've got Tampa, Sarasota-Bradenton, and Southwest International near Fort Myers on the west coast. On the east coast, we've got Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami International.

Those are our six main airports, and members will be in the counties adjacent to those airports to start off the season.

For an evacuation, we'll fly them to Atlanta. Atlanta was the choice because of the massive amount of logistics, hotel rooms, follow-on travel, and accessibility that's there.

We try to keep it simple: one of those six airports to Atlanta, and from there, members can choose how they want to continue their travel.

Derho: So what happens once someone gets to Atlanta?

Houston: We have a membership guide to help them look at hotels, and we have a dedicated case manager for each member.

As they go through the whole process, we'll make sure they've got accommodations taken care of, transportation and all that through the guide and our partners.

We also have an office in Atlanta, and our Dynamo team members will be there. We'll have people on the ground to assist, along with the case managers, every step of the way.

Derho: I want to clarify something because I initially looked at this almost like insurance. It's not insurance for the customer, correct?

Houston: Correct. What we're offering members is a membership program. It's not insurance for the members.

On the corporate side, there is an insurance piece to it, but as far as the member-facing aspect, it's not technically insurance.

That corporate piece is really about securing the aviation component and making sure that if all of our triggers are met, we have the ability to cover that. That's how we can get the aircraft secured prior to the season.

It's really about making sure we have that capacity secured through those relationships. But it is a membership program.

Derho: And that's where your B2B strategy comes in?

Houston: Exactly. It's actually both B2C and B2B.

Someone can go onto our website and purchase a membership individually. Or we can go through a broker, insurance company, agency, or HOA and partner with them.

Those are the core groups we want to work with because they can offer the service to their members.

For example, if you're an HOA, we'd look at offering this to all of your residents. The same thing applies to luxury real estate. When someone buys a house, this could be an additional service that comes with the property.

Everybody wins.

Derho: How many members can you accommodate during this first season?

Houston: I wouldn't give specific enrollment numbers, but we do have capacity this season in our first year for up to 5,000 members. That's what we're working with based on our aviation partner.

We've seen steady enrollment, and that's kind of our capacity-wise situation. We've secured our aviation capacity for this year.

Derho: You're clearly starting carefully. Is expansion part of the long-term plan?

Houston: Absolutely. We wanted to focus on South Florida this season to prove the model and make sure we had all the data and all the programs working as advertised.

We're absolutely looking at expanding and wouldn't rule out any of the islands, and Puerto Rico as well.

But this season, we want to focus on executing South Florida. We're absolutely open to expanding.

Derho: The idea apparently came from a real-world experience involving someone trying to escape a hurricane. What happened?

Houston: Originally, it was Jason Murgio, the founder and CEO.

He came up with the idea after a conversation with a friend whose college student was in Florida and had been through a hurricane. The student was trying to get out of the hurricane zone and ended up paying an exorbitant amount for a ticket to get out.

Jason looked at it and said, "There's got to be a better way to do this."

I think that's a lot of our market, too. People have loved ones in other areas that maybe you're worried about. Maybe they're down there for college, or you have aging parents or somebody else you're concerned about who won't have a plan if there's something that requires them to get out.

That was really the genesis of the whole project.

Derho: And medical needs are part of the planning?

Houston: Yes. That's one of the reasons we partnered with Project Dynamo. They're used to doing this in disaster areas and places that are in active conflict, so they translate a lot of those skills to our operation.

They have case managers on scene at the airport.

When you sign up, we know if you've got a wheelchair, if you need supplemental oxygen or whatever your medical issue is. We have that information up front, so we can plan for it.

And that's part of the membership. Once you're enrolled, we know what your needs are.

Derho: What about pets?

Houston: People don't want to leave their pets behind. They're part of the family.

You can evacuate with your pets. It depends on the size. If they can sit under the seat in front of you in a carrier, like on a typical airline, there's an additional $125 fee.

Above a certain size, they need their own seat. We don't cargo-load any of the pets, so for larger dogs, they're going to need their own membership.

It's an option, and people really care about that. I have dogs myself, so I know.

Derho: We're seeing a lot of discussion about what appears to be a quieter Atlantic hurricane season. Does that change your message?

Houston: I would caution people: don't get complacent.

We've had quiet seasons in the past and then had a massive hurricane. Hurricanes can still happen in quieter seasons.

Preparation is key. Just making sure people have a plan is the big thing.

With us, we create that plan for you as a member, so you can kind of offload that to us. We use criteria that are National Hurricane Center-based and objective, and you'll know exactly what we're doing. We communicate that well to the members.

I'd just say be vigilant, even though it's kind of a slower season in the Atlantic. You can't let your guard down.

Derho: You've spent your career in military aviation and disaster operations. What's different about this?

Houston: I think it's really the opportunity to continue serving and helping people.

In the military, you get to do that on a large scale, and you learn very quickly that planning and execution matter.

That's what we're trying to bring to Priority EVAC. We've got a lot of experienced people, and we're taking the time to get the model right.

Derho: I said to you during the interview, "500 people done well is better than 5,000 done poorly." You agreed with me.

Houston: Exactly.

You want to get something right when you're dealing with something you have to take very seriously. You have to make sure it's executed perfectly.

It's just like operations in the military. You have to make sure things are executed properly.

Derho: So what's the ultimate goal?

Houston: To help people be prepared before a natural disaster hits.

That's really what we're trying to do. If something is coming their way, we want to be part of helping them get out of the way and into safety.

For our first season, we're focused on executing the program well, taking care of our members and proving the model.

Then we'll look at where we can take it next.

Talking with Tim Houston, what becomes clear is that Priority EVAC isn't really trying to compete with airlines. It is trying to solve a different problem.

The company's proposition begins long before the airport becomes crowded. It combines pre-arranged aviation capacity with meteorological criteria, case management, ground logistics, and disaster-response expertise. For members, the appeal is straightforward: instead of figuring out what to do when a hurricane is already bearing down on Florida, they have a plan before the storm becomes an emergency.

Houston's military background gives the concept an especially interesting dimension. After 25 years of aviation and disaster-response experience, he has seen what happens when large-scale evacuations work and what happens when they don't. Now, as a civilian, he's applying that experience to a commercial model designed around preparedness.

Priority EVAC is beginning with South Florida, six airports and a first-season capacity of up to 5,000 members. Puerto Rico and other markets could eventually become part of the company's expansion.

But for Houston, the mission remains considerably simpler than the logistics required to accomplish it.

Have a plan. Don't get complacent. And leave before everyone else decides it's time to leave.