emse232

Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

Crisis and Emergency Management

November 2004 Volume 7 - Number 2

Hurricane Update...

The affect of Hurricane Jeanne on Florida

By Rosa Ailabouni

On Saturday evening, September 25, 2004, Hurricane Jeanne, which was the fourth hurricane to come through Florida in a six-week period, stormed through the state initiating with 120 mph winds near the southern end of Hutchinson Island. Jeanne was the cause of collapsed beachfront homes, severely damaged roofs, and loss of power. (Relief pours in as Jeanne moves north, http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/27/hurricane.jeanne)

On the Friday prior to the storm, four counties in Florida called for voluntary evacuation. Early Saturday morning, at least eight counties required “mandatory evacuations of low-lying areas, barrier islands and mobile homes.” A hurricane warning was issued for the coast, between Florida City and St. Augustine. (Florida in path of Hurricane Jeanne, http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/24/hurricane.jeanne)

Three-fourths of Melbourne, Florida residents were left without power and over 2,500 people stayed in shelters. The City Manager of Melbourne, Jack Schlukebier, estimated that several hundred homes were damaged. The Mayor of Stuart, Florida, Jeff Krauskopf, noted that the biggest problem was roof damage. He added, “Frances took out all the vegetation. Then when Jeanne came through, it got most of the roofs. Commercial [buildings] have had their roofs ripped off and they are being saturated with water.” (Relief pours in as Jeanne moves north, http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/27/hurricane.jeanne)

By Monday, September 27, emergency officials shifted their focus from a search and rescue to relief efforts when Jeanne was finally downgraded to a tropical depression. Jeanne left 2.6 million people in Florida without power and killed at least six people. Trucks were delivering water, ice, and other essentials to the areas that were affected by Hurricane Jeanne. According to Governor Bush, before Jeanne had hit, relief efforts provided more than 7.4 million meals and 18 million pounds of ice. (Relief pours in as Jeanne moves north, http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/27/hurricane.jeanne)

President Bush declared Florida a major disaster area. More than $1 billion in federal and state disaster aid has been approved since Hurricane Charley first struck Florida in mid-August; these funds include the cost for emergency assistance as well as funds to individuals and business owners as a result of all four hurricanes. (Florida’s Disaster Aid Tops One Billion Dollars, http://www.fema.gov) It was estimated that Jeanne produced between $4-8 billion in insured losses in the United States. (Relief pours in as Jeanne moves north, http://www.cnn.com/2004/WEATHER/09/27/hurricane.jeanne)
With all the damaged rooftops, many out-of-state roofers came to Florida for a short-term business opportunity. However, they can not work in Florida because of the high cost of workers’ compensation insurance and insurance underwriters unwilling to cover them due to the risky nature of the job. This, along with a shortage of shingles, may have homeowners waiting a couple of years to have their roofs repaired. (Florida May Have Long Wait on Repairs, 24 October 04, http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Hurricanes-Roofing-Repairs.html?ex=1099681782&e )

Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, expressed his thanks for FEMA’s response and support. “Through it all, FEMA has been in our state, by our side, serving our people. I'm extremely grateful for their support and their commitment to work with us through the emergency response and into recovery." (http://www.fema.gov)