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Residents advised to prepare
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
Article published on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 |
PINELLAS PARK – The Tampa Bay area this year will experience another busy hurricane season, and residents are urged to take precautions to protect themselves and their property from the ravages of high winds, storm surges and tornados.
Official predictions vary from a high of nine hurricanes and 17 named storms for 2006 to the Original Farmer’s Almanac forecast of possibly one tropical storm or hurricane for the entire season.
Reports that Tampa Bay will escape direct hits due to protective atmospheric and water conditions is not altogether accurate and can change.
The area hasn’t experienced a major storm since 1921. The closest after that year were Gladys in 1968 and Charley in 2004.
Two major hurricanes, however, struck here in the 1800s and another eight decades ago.
“That doesn’t mean it can’t happen again,” said Betti C. Johnson, principal planner of the Pinellas Park-based Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council’s emergency management program that coordinates efforts with Pinellas, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.
A Category 3 hurricane, Florida-born Johnson said, would cause an 18-foot storm surge, heavy rain and tornados.
Emergency and atmospheric scientists say that global weather patterns have created increased tropical storm and hurricane activity for Florida.
The Hazards and Vulnerability Analysis report that examines storms since the 1920s shows that Florida and Tampa Bay will continue to experience busy storm seasons.
Until the 1840s only Florida’s east cost was vulnerable. In 1848, however, Tampa Bay was virtually destroyed by a hurricane and 15 feet of surge. Two weeks later a second hurricane struck.
The October 1921 storm caused a 10.5-foot water surge and created major damage.
Elsewhere, a 1928 hurricane caused the banks of the Lake Okeechobee to rise 15 feet and kill 1,200 people.
By the 1950s storm patterns moved to the Atlantic coast. Hurricanes during the 1960s and 1970s struck only Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The 1980s were relatively quiet except for Elena that came within 80 miles of Tampa Bay, causing mass evacuations and $118 million in damages in Pinellas County alone.
The 1990s was the most costly and deadly hurricane decade due to Andrew.
That storm caused 43 deaths, $30 billion in damages, 85,000 destroyed homes and the loss of thousands of jobs.
“People who live there now didn’t before Andrew,” Johnson said. “Many original residents moved away to Georgia, North Carolina and elsewhere.”
Johnson said the biggest chore is getting residents to believe that a hurricane can actually happen here.
“People are in a victim mode and expect the government to be there with water and food immediately after a storm,” Johnson said. “Residents must take some responsibility for themselves and get prepared.”
That means planning escape routes, storing food and getting homes and businesses prepared.
The “steering currents,” or the atmospheric conditions that propel storms, are changing rapidly and can cause a direct hit here.
“People think that the 70 mph winds produced by Charley was a hurricane,” Johnson said. “That wasn’t even a minimum hurricane.”
A Category 1 storm starts at 74 mph and can produce a 5-foot surge.
Johnson’s team to further educate the public on hurricane dangers is sponsoring seminars and looking for other ways to get the word out to the public.
Just recently a meeting with condo managers was held. Others will be scheduled with senior citizens, businesses and other potential storm victims.
“We must get ourselves in a prepare mode,” Johnson said.
The hurricane season begins June 1 and ends in November.
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Article published on Wednesday, March 15, 2006
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