Experts fear Tampa Bay residents have become too complacent about emergency preparations after decades of being bypassed by major storms.
By DICK FLETCHER
Published June 6, 2004
The season of the storms, summer, is here.
For the most part, we in the Tampa Bay area have been lucky. We have been so fortunate, in fact, that the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, worries about hurricane amnesia.
He says people tend to forget what a major hurricane is like when they haven't experienced one in a few years. For the bay area, it has been more than a few years since a weak hurricane came close, and many, many decades since a major storm hit.
Almost 20 years have passed since Hurricane Elena bypassed the region but still caused millions of dollars in damage. It has been a much longer time since a major hurricane made a direct hit in the Tampa Bay area; the last time a category 3 or stronger storm hit us was in 1921. A lot of things have changed in 83 years. Rather than thousands of residents, the bay area now has millions of residents. More than half of us live in harm's way and would have to leave in the event of a major hurricane. A new traffic analysis shows that if everyone who needs to evacuate tries to leave the metro area, it would take two days.
What if we don't have 48 hours lead time? Planners say the answer is a short trip, to the home of a relative or friend on high ground within the region. That reduces the evacuation clearance time down to about 18 to 20 hours.
Of course everyone who doesn't need to evacuate should stay home and off the roads. Emergency managers also suggest that if you live in a safe zone, you can help your friends and relatives by inviting them to your home to ride out the storm.
It all starts with your own hurricane plan - the first step, knowing if you need to evacuate, then where you will go. This is the time to update last year's plan or make a new one if you are new to the area.
You will find all the help you need to prepare your plans in this official hurricane survival guide. Then you, your family and your business will be ready if this is the year we get hit with the big one.
[Last modified June 2, 2004, 12:54:56]
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