- November 4, 2024
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New Flagler County Emergency Management Chief Jonathan Lord discussed this year’s hurricane season and its anticipated differences as well as strategies at a Media Day Lunch on Tuesday, May 29, at the Flagler County Emergency Operations Center.
Lord was was hired on Jan. 8 to replace Steve Garten.
Emergency Management Technician Bob Pickering and Public Information Officer Julie Murphy were also in attendance.
Here’s a summary of what was brought up at the event:
Lord said the county is going to be using more accurate hurricane tracking models. Over the past few years, the “cone of uncertainty,” the cone that represents the probable track of the center of a storm, has been fairly wide. The cone is going to shrink this year. The more accurate forecasting will help with planning evacuations.
“I will always error on the side of caution,” Lord said. “It’s much better to evacuate and say, ‘You get to go home. Nothing happened,' than for us not to evacuate when we should have.”
Another product that has recently become available to the public is a graphic that tracks the arrival time of tropical storm-force winds. The product was experimental last year. Now, the National Hurricane Center will put out a graphic that shows little bands, complete with a date and time, marking the earliest reasonable time of arrival of tropical storm-force winds.
It could prove one of the biggest advantages to the county’s storm preparedness.
“We don’t want the public, and we don’t want responders, out in tropical storm-force winds,” Lord said. “Everything we do, we’ll work backwards from that time.”
The county provides three types of hurricane shelters to the public: general population, pet-friendly and special needs.
Lord said the county-provided shelters should be used as a last resort.
Comfortability and privacy are the biggest issue with the shelters. You’ll likely be sleeping on the floor if you don’t bring your own cot or sleeping bag, Lord said.
“The idea of the shelter is to provide walls and a roof that can withstand a hurricane,” he said. “It’s not going to be comfortable.”
For the special needs shelter and for transportation services, Lord said it would help with planning if residents registered ahead of time instead of when the storm is approaching.
The county partnering with home healthcare agencies to provide assistance in the special needs shelters was also brought up. Lord said he plans to invite agencies to discuss a potential partnership within the coming months.
“I think it would be a great public-private partnership,” he said.
Lord encouraged residents to prepare an emergency hurricane kit. The kit should include, but is not limited to, water, food, clothing, cash, first-aid, cell phone chargers, batteries and so on.
Governor Rick Scott recently signed legislation that cut more than $121 million in taxes for Florida families and created a nine-day sales tax holiday for hurricane supplies that begins on May 31.
“Now is the perfect time to build your hurricane kit,” Lord said.
After Hurricane Irma, an estimated 4.4 million Florida Power and Light customers statewide were left without electricity. As far as the county was concerned, much of Flagler Beach was left devastated by the lack of power.
Although the damage to the electrical structure was severe, Lord said there is a silver lining.
A lot of the old poles, even ones that weren’t destroyed, were replaced with newer, stronger poles. And many, if not all, of the downed trees have not grown back yet.
“If there was a silver lining, that’s it. It helps,” he said. “Trees are beautiful… but trees and powerlines aren’t the best of friends.”
Lord also discussed the use of generators. While useful — and expensive — they need to be used safely, he said.
