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Cities prepare water, warnings

County and municipal leaders unveil their hurricane preparations with a message of personal responsibility.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN and NICOLE JOHNSON
Published June 1, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - The city is building an innovative $100,000 water delivery setup. A phone system that calls 2,000 homes a minute already is in place.

Other local governments in Pinellas County are launching outreach campaigns, fortifying their emergency operations center and adding hurricane shelters.

County and city leaders believe state and federal aid will arrive quickly if a hurricane strikes the Tampa Bay area. But they're preparing as if it won't. And residents should too, city officials said, mirroring the blunt talk of self-reliance coming from state and federal leaders.

"You can die," said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, unveiling his city's preparedness plan Wednesday. "It's that simple. You and your children, or your grandchildren, can die. You should take that seriously."

If Pinellas were struck by a Category 5 storm, county officials say, a 24-foot-high storm surge would temporarily turn the county into two islands, with much of the county below water.

Violent winds could uproot trees and damage or destroy local water supplies, creating chaos, emergency officials say.

In St. Petersburg, officials have developed an emergency water system, the first of its kind in the state, that would provide up to five days of drinking water for damaged portions of the city.

A tanker truck will carry water from city reserves to 18 different "water pillows" placed in strategic locations across the city. The 15- by 15-foot pillows are like giant plastic bags that can each hold 2,500 gallons of water. The water can then be distributed easily to needy residents, said Patti Anderson, the city's water resources director.

"You don't want people panicked," Anderson said. "You want them to be drinking water."

St. Petersburg also has purchased a telephone dialing system that can reach up to 2,000 people a minute if an evacuation was ordered, or to provide other necessary information. The city's old system could reach only 500 people an hour.

The new system, which cost $100,000, also can target specific blocks or neighborhoods, said St. Petersburg police Officer Chip Wells, who administers the service.

Pinellas, which oversees much of the local response, will spend $1.7-million on hurricane preparedness in the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, said spokeswoman Maggie Hall.

The money will go to hire more staff members as well as fund public organizations that create hurricane shelters.

This year, the county hired four new employees in its Office of Emergency Management, Hall said. Each is trained in a special area, including one who is fluent in Spanish, a former supervisor of the citizen information center and two employees experienced in assisting people with special needs.

The county also is adding three school shelters this year in St. Petersburg at Fairmount Park, Sanderlin and Campbell Park elementary schools.

"Government operations will do their part," Hall said. But the public, she added, "must take some responsibility."

Many other local communities are focusing on education.

In Clearwater, officials plan a media campaign to teach residents what they should be responsible for - finding shelter and having food and water to last several days.

In Pinellas Park, officials are training city employees how to respond in an emergency.

And in Largo, the city's fire department is offering preparedness seminars for civic groups and neighborhood associations. The city's public access channel, LTV 15, will broadcast educational programs on the topic as well.

More than a dozen civic groups have participated in the training, including businesses and condominium associations, said Deputy Chief Karry Bell, emergency management coordinator for Largo Fire and Rescue.

"It's critical because it's only so many fire personnel," Bell said. "And when you have over a million people in Pinellas County, we can't physically touch everyone who potentially may need assistance."

Times staff writer Anne Lindberg contributed to this report.

[Last modified June 1, 2006, 04:24:57]