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Preparing for a Hurricane

© Vickie Ferguson

Florida can be a lot of fun from the panhandle to Key West but the one thing we're noted for that stands out more than even Disney and Mickey Mouse, Daytona and the beach, Sebring and the car races, key lime pie, strawberry festivals and fresh squeezed Florida orange juice are the hurricanes that torment the Gulf Coast from June to November.

Last year we were bombarded with multiple storms and folks living here are still trying to rebuild their lives. Many are still living in the mobile homes provided by FEMA.

Since Katrina skipped across southern Florida then continued her devastating travels across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, even more awareness of "be prepared" information has been provided.

Living in the Tampa Bay area, which is located on the west coast of Florida, we have dodged the bullet of a direct hit over and over but just like New Orleans, it's not a matter of if we will be hit but when. Tampa Bay is second on the list of cities that would have catastrophic results if a category 4 or 5 hit our area. New Orleans is number one on the list. Not very encouraging news.

Because of the horrendous devastation caused by the storm along with the horrific problems people faced when trying to evacuate, a look at the plan the state has had in place for our area has been revisited so if the word comes to evacuate, there will be sufficient ways and means of getting people to safety utilizing every possible means so that no one is left behind.

No plan is perfect but Katrina was a wake-up call to many areas.

We've been shown graphs of what would happen to our downtown area, which resides beside Tampa Bay and feeds the Hillsborough River, and seen the computer graphics that show most of our city would be underwater, just like New Orleans. It shows what a 20ft storm surge would do to south Florida, mostly residential, and the homes and businesses that are near the Hillsborough River which snakes through a large part of Tampa.

We would also be dealing with the thousands of folks evacuating Pinellas County (St. Petersburg, Clearwater). These folks would be using mostly the three bridges that connect Pinellas to Hillsborough. You can only imagine what this will be like. Then once they cross the bridges, they would be jammed up on the interstate heading north. Add the Tampa Bay area folks to this mix and the traffic nightmare would begin. The traffic is just one of many concerns.

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