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City looks to fill gap in emergency preparedness

By PAUL SWIDER
Published May 21, 2006

"People are looking for a lot of things they need after a storm," Ballou said. "They're looking for somebody in charge. Hopefully, that's what neighbors can do."

Ballou will share this message and more at a special meeting Monday in hopes neighborhood leaders can help him fill a gap that exists when residents are unprepared for an emergency and official response can't meet their needs quickly. The meeting of neighborhood representatives is organized by the city's Neighborhood Partnership Department and will be 7 p.m. at the Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N.

The scenes of the aftermath of Katrina are still fresh in people's minds: residents flagging down rescuers from rooftops or wading through fetid floodwater. Ballou said that was a product of people not evacuating, but he also recognized that people in New Orleans didn't always have the means to prepare. Some in St. Petersburg are in the same situation.

"Some people can barely afford food for every day, so we know they can't stock up" a week's supply as recommended, Ballou said.

Still, he said, no amount of government effort can meet people's needs in the first hours or days after a major storm. During that time, Ballou said he hopes neighbors can work with each other.

Ballou makes hurricane preparedness presentations about 20 times a year to neighborhood groups, but the meeting Monday is a special effort to reach many at once, including organizations' leaders. He said neighborhood associations can help him get the word out, but also can get information back to the city.

Some residents, Ballou said, are unwilling to share information about their personal vulnerabilities because they worry about their safety or independence. He said these people need not worry, the city will keep their trust, but he may need neighbors' help to first gather information about evacuation or resource needs.

"Those are going to be the ones that need the help poststorm," Ballou said. "Maybe the neighborhood associations can figure out how to help us reach them early."

Researchers have shown that those most harmed in Katrina were those both of little means and in the most vulnerable neighborhoods. Ballou said St. Petersburg doesn't have quite the same conditions because its low-income areas are not in evacuation zones. But he said those areas do face risks from high winds because the housing stock is older and less secure.

For its own accountability, the city last week conducted a hurricane exercise to test its own preparedness. Facing a Category 3 storm making landfall at the mouth of Tampa Bay, the exercise assumed a 13-foot storm surge and Category 4 gusts that destroyed 9,000 businesses and homes and damaged another 80,000 structures. After peppering 300 city workers with questions and throwing them curves like cutting their communications mid exercise, Ballou said the city's systems fared well. But all his preparation can only go so far, so he keeps urging people to get out, get to a shelter or at least stock their shelves.

"We can't stop a hurricane from coming, so if you don't want to be standing in those long lines looking for food and water, prepare now," he said. "People should not have to suffer."

Meetings

- At Riviera Bay Civic Association's meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, St. Petersburg Emergency Management Chief Bob Ballou will discuss hurricane preparedness and other emergencies and answer questions. Afterward, Alex Brannan, a registered nurse, will discuss and demonstrate CPR. The meeting will be at St. James Church, 845 87th Ave. N; enter on the north side.

- The Bayou Highlands Neighborhood Association will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Skyway Resource Center, 1065 62nd Ave. S. St. Petersburg's neighborhood transportation manager Mike Frederick will lead a conversation about a neighborhood traffic plan. This is the last meeting of the neighborhood association until September.

- The Grand Central District is holding its monthly stroll from 5-9 p.m. Friday along the 2400 block of Central Avenue. Stores will be open late and offering samples of homemade sangria. There will be other refreshments as well as live music performances and artistic displays.

Readers wishing to submit information for the Neighborhood Notebook can contact Times staff writer Paul Swider either by e-mail at pswider@sptimes.com or by phone at 892-2271. Neighborhood association presidents who would like to publish their organization's information directly to the Web on their own itsyourtimes.com blog should also contact Paul Swider at pswider@sptimes.com.

[Last modified May 21, 2006, 09:12:18]