Florida’s emergency managers grappled with hurricane amnesia for the quiet decade following the hyperactive 2004 and 2005 storm seasons, but now there’s another concern — hurricane fatigue.
Instead of tropical cyclones being a distant memory, three consecutive years of devastation may have left people numb to the upcoming season that begins June 1.
“People get bombarded with it and they don’t want to deal with it,” said Palm Beach County Emergency Management Director Bill Johnson at the 33rd annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference being held this week in West Palm Beach. “I think it can impact our overall readiness.”
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This year’s conference, held for the third year at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, is expected to surpass 2018′s attendance of 2,200 as emergency managers, meteorologists and first responders get updated lessons on hurricane prep and post-storm repair. The convention center will host the annual meeting through 2023.
While 370 hours of specialized training is being offered throughout the week, the main event is Wednesday when Gov. Ron DeSantis, National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham and emergency managers from Bay and Calhoun counties will speak.
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Joby Smith, Bay County’s emergency management chief’s speech is titled: “Everyone has a plan ’til they get punched in the mouth.”
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Bay County’s Mexico Beach was virtually wiped away by a Hurricane Michael-generated storm surge estimated at 14 feet above ground level. According to a National Hurricane Center report, 1,584 buildings out of 1,692 in Mexico Beach were damaged, with 809 destroyed.
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Of 16 people who died as a direct result from Michael, seven were in Florida, including five who died from storm surge.
“In Palm Beach County we emphasize that you hide from wind and run from surge,” Johnson said. “People don’t put enough thought into the concept of evacuation and that’s because they are wind-centric.”
Workshops this week explore effective storm communications, managing volunteers, evacuation policies, how to protect cultural heritage sites from storms, emergency healthcare and an updated hurricane season forecast from Colorado State University.
On Monday, meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Miami and National Hurricane Center taught a course on forecast procedures and products used during a tropical system, such as the cone of uncertainty and wind arrival time graphics.
Pablo Santos, the meteorologist in charge at Miami’s NWS office, said while none of the information was new, recent emergency management hires need the training.
“No one reads the public advisories,” said NHC Senior Hurricane Specialist John Cangialosi. “The cone graphic is far and away the most popular thing on the website. People stare at it and decide if it’s their problem or not.”
Kmiller@pbpost.com
@KmillerWeather
This story originally published to palmbeachpost.com, and was shared to other Florida newspapers in the GateHouse Media network.
