For the first time in over 100 years, Palm Beach County was hit by two hurricanes within a six week time period. During the months of September and October, 2004 the winds of Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne made landfall in Palm Beach County.
Thousands of government workers and volunteers worked side-by-side to provide needed food, water, and ice to thousands of people affected by the storms.
For both storms, over one-hundred and twenty-two (122) semi-trailer loads of water, ice, and food were distributed throughout the County. Both the State of Florida and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) complimented Palm Beach County for the ability to establish and manage emergency food distribution sites within 24-hours after the storms.
On March 29, 2005 the Board of County Commissioners met with several principal agencies that coordinated and provided response and recovery services before, during, and after the storms. The Board heard presentations from Sheriff; Florida Power and Light; Palm Beach County Fire/Rescue; the Palm Beach County Health Department; the Solid Waste Authority; and County staff. Each agency is working on plans and procedures to implement the lessons learned and the steps being taken to improve the delivery of critical governmental services to the public.
The Sheriff committed his agency to do a better job in coordinating curfews with every municipality. His aim is to reduce or minimize the differing curfew times throughout the County by working with the municipal police chiefs. He also advised the County that he will be working with County staff to identify major road intersections without working traffic lights and place staff at those locations to direct traffic movement.
To minimize the impact of power outages, FPL and the County are working on establishing a priority power restoration list. This list will identify the specific agencies, businesses, services, and locations to have power restored as soon as possible. In addition, the County has increased the number of generators and fuel storage capacity at its critical potable water and wastewater treatment sites to last at least five days if normal power is not available.
Because of the extent and duration of the power outages, many nursing homes and other health care facilities ran out of fuel or had insufficient generator capacity to run needed equipment. This led to the unnecessary evacuation of patients to shelters not prepared to care for the evacuees. The County is supporting legislation that will require all health care facilities to increase their generator capacity to provide air conditioning, lighting, and food preparation in all patient care areas. In addition, the County is supporting legislation that imposes severe penalties on health care facilities that do not follow their established plans for the orderly evacuation of their patients.
For those home-bound elderly and disabled residents, the County is also working with the Area on Aging, Health Department, and others to identify them to assure they are provided with food, water, and ice immediately following a storm. It became clear that when the power is out, those living in multi-story facilities cannot use the elevators and those without transportation need special attention. The County is promoting the establishment of local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to assist with the identification and distribution of supplies to those shut-ins.
A very significant approach the County is undertaking is to reduce our reliance on federal and state assistance after the storm. It became apparent after the storm that FEMA and the State could not provide the amount of food, water, and ice immediately necessary. The County is now researching the availability of alternative providers considering the storage of supplies for rapid distribution to the most severely affected areas. The County is also partnering with local United Way Agency to assist in the provision of long-term recovery services. Using the United Way and all of its resources will enable the County to bring in outside non-profit and faith-based agencies to help in the recovery efforts that government doesn’t normally provide.
The coordination of all hurricane response and recovery services is handled out of the County Emergency Operation Center (EOC). The upgrading of the EOC has become a priority because of the inadequate sleeping, feeding, and working areas.
Lastly, the County will be pressing our federal legislative leaders to improve FEMA’s services to the public. FEMA’s inconsistently has led to some areas of the State not affected by the hurricanes receiving funds while other more needy areas wait interminably for assistance. We are encouraging our representatives to act quickly to make sure our County’s needs are handled expeditiously and to the fullest extent of the law.
Although our plans worded as hoped, it is more important now than ever that everyone has a plan on what to do should we experience another hurricane. If you plan to leave the area is a storm threatens, make sure you do so early. Don’t wait for the evacuation order to be issued. Leave early and beat the storm. If you plan on staying in your home, make preparations and plans now. Stat storing food, water and medications for at least a three day period. Don’t wait until the last minute when store shelves may be empty. If you plan on staying at a County shelter, know what you will be taking and plan on getting there before the winds and rain really start to blow.
Palm Beach County is here to help you plan and prepare for a hurricane. Planning guides and informational brochures are available. Call
561-712-6400 and ask for a copy. You can also download a copy at
http://www.pbcgov.com/PubSafety/EOC/downloads.htm.
