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Prepare for Wilma now
A Times Editorial
Published October 21, 2005
Hurricane Wilma's bobbing and weaving will leave Floridians with little advance notice of if, when and exactly where the massive storm will hit the state. While that adds to the anxiety, Floridians should know the drill by now and be prepared if last-minute steering winds bump Wilma onto another track.
State and local officials are better prepared than ever, having weathered six hurricanes in the past year. Still, residents should not take the government's emergency planning for granted. Wilma's anticipated hook eastward toward Florida is not expected until Saturday. That doesn't leave the Gulf Coast counties time to evacuate everyone in the strike zone before Sunday's expected landfall. Gov. Jeb Bush made a point of telling Congress this week that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was grossly unprepared for Hurricane Katrina, still needs to improve its poststorm recovery efforts. That warning should kick the agency into overdrive in the coming days, for Wilma on its current path stands to threaten the very counties Charley slammed last year.
The extra day prolongs the tension, but it also provides crucial time to prepare for a storm whose tropical force winds are expanding across a wider area. Residents near the cone of danger should secure their homes, stock up supplies and be prepared to evacuate if the order comes. While the governor declared a state of emergency Thursday and state and federal officials were positioning supplies throughout the state, the physics of these storms, as we have seen, makes preparing for them like trying to hit a moving target.
If Wilma speeds up after turning east, as meteorologists predict, then residents in its path will have perhaps a day to react. Now is the time, on the front end of the weekend, to prepare for strong winds, heavy rain, maybe flooding. The Tampa Bay area could at least get a huge swath of nasty weather. Floridians may be tired and stressed, but it's important not to succumb to hurricane fatigue.
[Last modified October 21, 2005, 02:15:38]
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