Thankfully, Tampa Bay did not take a direct hit from any hurricane in 2017, despite predictions to the contrary, but the aftermath of IRMA left the City of St. Petersburg, Treasure Island, and St. Pete Beach along with a large part of Florida reeling under the thousands of tons of debris left by a long-lasting rogue hurricane.
It was an unprecedented event. IRMA touched every county in Florida and there were simply not enough workers or machines to complete the task of cleanup and restoration quickly. About 70% of power customers in Pinellas County lost electricity, mostly due to downed power lines.
As the 2018 season approaches, municipalities are setting priorities and creating plans for post-disaster operations that include removal and disposal of debris to restore streets, drainage systems, utility systems and other structures and systems to full capacity, priority given to police, fire and utility repair vehicles and damage assessment teams.
Priority is given to debris clearance in support of search and rescue operations. Paths must be wide enough for the search and rescue teams to access heavily damaged areas. Downed power line repair is coordinated closely, with Duke Energy focusing on hospitals, police and fire stations first.
Debris clearance efforts must also be dedicated to opening access to other critical community facilities, such as wastewater treatment facilities, as they are also threats to public health and safety.
“We have to remember that each storm is different and we must treat them as such,” said Amber Boulding, Manager of the Office of Emergency Management in the City of St. Petersburg. “Our plans are never static and we are continuously looking at the current conditions. We must remain creative and in constant communication.”
“St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman continually applauds his people for their ability to be nimble, creative and innovative in the face of all issues as the emergency management team looks to plans for the 2018 hurricane season,” stated Ben Kirby, Communications Director in the Mayor’s Office. “It’s a team that is able to think on their feet. Last hurricane season city teams made up of Public Works, Parks and Recreation and Sanitation, and other cross-department personnel collected debris street by street.”
“No one could have anticipated what happened with IRMA,” stated Phil Whitehouse, Superintendent of the Parks and Recreation department involved with debris clean up in City of St. Petersburg. “It was unprecedented.”
“We were set for a flooding event since we are surrounded on three sides by water, but we got a wind event, which is why we had so many trees down and other debris,” added Kirby. “Our City teams and other cross-departmental personnel collected debris street by street and brought the material to sites set up for collection and processing. There is no plan to formally change any of these ideas.”
These debris clearance activities would take place at the end of the immediate emergency period. Damaged utility systems, structurally unstable buildings and other heavily damaged public access facilities must be immediately repaired, deactivated, barricaded, or torn down. Demolition of unsafe structures may be delayed if access to the area can be controlled.
The City of St. Pete Beach will not clear or remove debris from private property unless the debris creates a threat to public health and safety. If the debris clearance and removal task is beyond the resources of the city, county and state, the federal government may provide assistance. FEMA’s regional director determines degree of assistance.
St. Pete Beach handled the debris clearance in 2017 by closely following FEMA guidelines and was the fortunate to have no sewage spillage.
St. Pete Beach Mayor Al Johnson told Paradise News, “We did not make any ordinance changes but tweaked a few internal rules. Our emergency response procedures worked very well and we plan to continue to use them. It took longer than we wanted to but in the end we will be reimbursed from the Federal Government the majority of the funds the City of St. Pete Beach had to spend because we carefully adhered to FEMA’s very stringent rules.”
Treasure Island City Manager Gary Brumback stated that he was very proud about the way the city’s employees pooled together to clean up the mess left behind by IRMA. “Employees worked their fingers to the bone using every bit of available resources,” Brumback told Paradise News. “They helped one another with manpower and equipment to return life to normal after such a large event. And we were forced to do all the cleanup on our own due to the extraordinary circumstances of 2017. We don’t have plans to change our disaster abatement changes.”
No one wants to see another season like 2017 and all emergency personnel hope for the cooperation of the weather these next six months of the official 2018 season. However, each municipality is looking to be alert and prepared as they do their best in anticipation for the worst. PN
Article by Bonnie L. Quick