2004 hurricane season taught important lessons

Reprinted from the Oct. 24, 2005 Daily News

Hurricane Charley knocked out power for weeks. Its winds pushed trees and traffic lights onto roadways. Communications broke down.

But from the debris, the lack of electricity and the dropped cell phone calls, Southwest Florida became better prepared to weather another storm.

Emergency management, public safety and public utility officials say the products that failed and the plans that didn’t always work have been replaced with something bigger, better and stronger.

To a person, emergency workers say they learned important lessons in the wake of the 2004 hurricane season and the very public system breakdowns that came after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“We were all caught a little by surprise last year,” Debbi Redfield, spokeswoman for the Bonita Springs fire district said the day before Hurricane Wilma hit. “We learned then that we need to be overprepared for anything.“

Florida Power & Light spent $252 million statewide after the August 2004 storm, company spokesman Grover Whidden said. Aging wooden poles were replaced with stronger, newer models, sometimes in favor of sturdy concrete.

Transportation officials replaced downed and outdated traffic signals with substantially more wind resistant models.

Local fire districts purchased more satellite phones after learning cellular technology relies too heavily on towers that can topple or sustain serious wind damages.

Emergency management and relief agencies tweaked preparedness plans to allow quicker deployment of water, ice and other supplies to the areas most in need.

Lee County’s chief emergency planner, Gerald Campbell, said moving water and ice presents a huge logistical challenge because it’s hard to determine where the supplies will be needed before a storm hits. Since Charley, the county has compiled a list of suitable distribution centers throughout Florida. After a storm the supplies would move to local centers, where residents could come for aid.

All the planning in the world isn’t going to help if it isn’t adaptable. Katrina showed reliance on rigid protocols can cause unacceptable supply and manpower delays.

Spur of the moment revelations often provide the answers to questions planning overlooked. After Charley, Florida transportation workers realized a simple generator could restore traffic signals at busy intersections, Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman Debbie Tower said.

“It was a very quick, practical application that helped move traffic and allowed law enforcement to focus on other things,” she said.

Even with new equipment and plans, much of how local infrastructure and disaster management strategies hold up depends on each storm. A heavy rain event offers different logistical challenges than a storm with more wind power.

State Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples, said he felt confident the local, state and federal response would more than address people’s needs after the storm.

“The response to Hurricane Charley at the state level was superb,” he said. “And now they are even more prepared.“