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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October
2004
Volume 7
- Number 1 |
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Related Sites:
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Evacuation
Actions taken during Hurricane Charley & Francis by Nandini
Harihareswara Florida
has been hit with hurricane after hurricane this year, forcing
residents to
flee their homes and businesses en masse. The numbers of people being
evacuated
are a record high for Florida, according to NOAA. The
evacuation actions taken in Hurricane Charley & Frances are closely
connected, due to their chronological proximity. Evacuations began for
Hurricane Charley as of August 13th and began for Frances as of
September 3rd.
Charley was not as powerful as Frances,
and Charley ravaged western Florida while Frances wreaked havoc in the
east and
panhandle of the state (www.accuweather.com). As
for Hurricane Charley, as of August 13th, evacuations were mandatory
for
visitors, non-residents, and mobile home residents in the Florida Keys
and
Coastal counties. Up to 680,000 Tampa Bay residents were asked to
evacuate from
coastal or low-lying areas. Residents of the Barrier Islands were urged
to
evacuate immediately (AP). The tolls were suspended on eastbound
interstate 75
to help expedite the evacuees leaving. This was a lesson learned from
Hurricane
Floyd, in 1999, where evacuees were stuck in massive traffic jams
trying to
evacuate (St. Petersburg Times). A
common theme voiced in most county shelters was a need for more space.
For
example, Pasco County had space for 18,500 and nine times as many
evacuees (St.
Petersburg Times). Though in some counties Charley came as a surprise
to
residents (some did not know their hurricane designation and therefore
didn’t
know when they needed to be evacuated), some counties were well
prepared. In
Hernando Country the CodeRED alert system alerted 450,000 residents
regarding
evacuation in about 15 minutes (St. Petersburg Times). Evacuations for
Hurricane Charley, overall, seemed to run smoothly. Unfortunately,
with the added issues of Frances, Florida evacuation systems were once
again
tested, this time in different parts of Florida and for a more
destructive
hurricane. Again
on September 2nd, voluntary evacuations were issued for mobile homes
and people
living in flood-prone areas (Cox News). About 870,000 residents in
South
Florida were asked to evacuate. Evacuation routes were then west-bound
and
state officials were again trying to prevent traffic jams that occurred
during
Floyd (Florida Times-Union). Another issue that was fueling anxiety in
evacuees
was gas shortages as well as the dwindling vacancies in Georgia’s
hotels (Tampa
Tribune). Many
of the major airports closed. Airports in Miami-Dade and Browared
counties
closed on September 1st and Orlando International did the
same on
September 3rd. Tampa International, however, stayed open
until
September 4th, at 9pm (Tampa Tribune). Airlines were
prepared and
set up phone banks for the heavy traffic of people trying to catch
early
flights. However, travel plans were exacerbated by the hurricane
coinciding
with Labor Day Weekend (Tampa Tribune). Though
Hurricane Frances was much more destructive than Charley, similar
issues were
emphasized in the aftermath of evacuation procedures. There was not
enough room
in shelters, and they were unprepared in terms of supplies of food and
clothing
as well as power (generators were failing frequently) (Cox News). Unfortunately,
Florida residents were not granted a reprieve, as Hurricanes Ivan &
Jeanne
followed in the wake of Frances devastation.
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