Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

After disaster, help can come from nearby

The Hernando Emergency Recovery Council is rounding up businesses to be ready to help with goods and services.

By BETH N. GRAY
Published August 14, 2006

A hurricane has shattered Hernando County. The Red Cross has depleted its financial resources. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has left town.

But some homeowners still have roof damage severe enough to leave their homes exposed to the elements.

Whom can they call?

Soon, if disasters like this strike, victims will be able to call the Hernando Emergency Recovery Council Inc. to get aid that is both immediate and local, said the organization's president, Robert Kanner.

"We hope to have businesses pledge plywood and roof shingles and labor so when the fictional Mrs. Smith contacts us, we're able to pool together our resources," Kanner said.

The key, county emergency management director Tom Leto said, is to round up local resources that can provide goods and services.

"Donations are very nice, but you need the resources," Kanner said.

Already Kanner and HERC's board of directors have signed up some 20 individuals and businesses - "point people" - willing to respond with resources, whether they be physical, emotional or spiritual.

"We're hoping to quadruple that (number) in a very short time," he added.

Said Leto: "The better you are at organizing resources in advance, the better you can respond to the disaster. It's difficult to organize resources at the last minute."

Leto is optimistic that HERC can round up what it needs to succeed. After 9/11, he said, "Citizens want to be more involved."

Kanner himself is a volunteer who approached Leto about helping the community in some way.

Now, the two want to tap into the business community, aiming to enlist them not just for humanitarian reasons, but also to help themselves get back in business and stabilize the county economy in the wake of a disaster.

HERC and the Emergency Management Office will work together, Leto said.

"If the Emergency Operations Center does encounter a need the county is short on, the county will go to HERC and we will ask if they can fill it," he said.

Addressing HERC directors Thursday, Leto outlined his department's incident command system, emergency support and mission functions.

He recommended HERC replicate the county's structure with a civilian and business base, for instance, grouping resources for firefighting, transportation, housing and medical aid.

While hurricanes are the pre-eminent disaster in Florida, HERC isn't restricting itself to dealing with nature's aftermath.

"Any disaster," Kanner said. "A terrorist attack, bird flu, a haz-mat situation with 50 houses that need to be evacuated. If it's considered a disaster, we'll be there with everything we can. (We aim) to lessen the amount of discomfort in the shortest amount of time possible in the event of a disaster."

HERC's board of directors is a powerhouse of local business leaders:

Kanner owns a safety supply firm; vice president Morris Porton is president of Center State Bank; treasurer Sam Shrieves is vice president of Capital City Bank; secretary Ruth Hoock is president of the county's Business and Professional Women; board member Irene Schauer is a director of Pasco-Hernando Community College, Spring Hill campus.

The board is filing to be incorporated as a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization, after which a "very small" budget will be formulated.

So far, Kanner and a business associate have donated money to set up a telephone answering system. The county Office of Emergency Management has provided technical and clerical support.

To get involved with HERC or for more information, call 597-7762.

Beth Gray can be reached at graybethn@earthlink.net.

[Last modified August 14, 2006, 06:35:22]