1ST ANNUAL FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM
EMERGENCY UPDATE [PG. 1]
NAME THAT HURRICANE [PG. 4]
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE [PG. 2]
IN THE NEWS [PG. 5]
NEWIS FOR DOWNLOAD [PG. 3]
FDOT PHONE BANK [PG. 6]
WHERE TO GET INFO IN MY AREA [PG. 3]
MORE INFO & WEBSITES [PG. 7]
HURRICANE PREP QUICK TIPS [PG. 4]
FDOT EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS UPDATE
[ED WARD]
Hurricane Season officially started June
1st, but this year the first storm of the
season came almost four weeks early.
Ana was a sub-tropical storm that moved
very quickly up the eastern coastline and
dissipated on Monday, May 11th.
Although we are only a little more than
a month into Hurricane Season we have
already had our second storm, Tropical Storm
Bill, which caused flooding in the Central US
region.
Dr. Bill Grey’s 2015 storm prediction is 7
named storms, 3 hurricanes and 1 major
hurricane. NOAA uses a range of numbers
for their annual prediction. NOAA’s 2015
storm prediction is 7-12 named storms, 3-6
hurricanes and 0-2 major hurricanes. It never
matters what the predictions are, it only takes
one storm to ruin your day. For those of us in
north Florida, we had a beautiful Memorial
Day weekend and Holiday. I hope everyone
got to spend some valuable time with family,
friends, etc. and remembered all of those who
have served in our military to give us the
freedoms we enjoy.
FHP, FDOT and our Asset Maintenance
Partners conducted the 2015 page-turn table
top exercise of our one way plans on Thursday,
April 30th. Each year we conduct this exercise
of the I-10 and I-75 one way plans. Each plan
is looked at one page at a time to determine
if we need to make any changes, corrections,
additions or deletions to that page. Each year
there are always things that need to be updated
due to changes to the Interstate System,
construction projects, changes in agency
staffing, etc. The plans are operational, but
everyone agrees we hope we never have to
activate them.
The 2015 Governor’s Hurricane Conference
was held the week of May 10 – 15 at the
IN
THIS
ISSUE
Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel and Conference
Center in Orlando. The theme this year was,
“Rethink Resilience.” There were 1,218 registered
attendees at this year’s conference representing 9
Countries (including the U.S.). Including Florida,
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, attendees
represented 33 states. 1001 attendees were from
Florida, representing 66 of the 67 Counties.
Training sessions began on Sunday the 10th and
continued through Wednesday afternoon. There
were 45 different training courses offered this year
covering topics such as Social Media, Damage
Assessment, FHWA-ER Program, Tropical Meteorology, Public
Information Officers, Mass Care, Continuity of Operations Plans, and
much more.
Workshops were conducted Thursday and Friday. There were 45
workshops offered this year covering topics such as Mutual Aid
Assistance, Regional Evacuation Studies, Drones/Balloons & Other
Video Assets, Mobile Command Vehicles, Critical Decision Making,
and many more. The opening General Session was Wednesday morning
and included Governor Rick Scott, Harris Rosen (Owner of the Rosen
Hotels.), Brian Koon (Director of the Division of Emergency
Management), Dr. Rick Knabb (Director of the National Hurricane
Center), Michael Dunkley (The Premier of Bermuda.), and Josh
Sawislak (Former White House Resilience Official). The vendor
exhibit hall was open Wednesday and Thursday. Also during the week
the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA) held meetings
of its Board of Directors and the Certification Commission. As with
all conferences, a lot of the best training and education comes from
the time spent networking with peers and vendors in the emergency
management field. There is no certificate earned for what is learned
from networking, but that time spent is priceless. The 2016 Governor’s
Hurricane Conference will be May 8 – 13, and will again be held at the
Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel and Conference Center in Orlando.
The Statewide Hurricane Exercise took on a very different look this year.
The exercise was conducted in four phases. Phases one and two were
table top exercises conducted two weeks apart. Phase one was a
hurricane making landfall in the panhandle. This hurricane was
modeled from Hurricane Opal in 1998. Phase two was a hurricane
making landfall in south Florida and moving up the center of the state
exiting in Jacksonville. This storm was modeled from the 1928
Hurricane Okeechobee storm that killed over 3,000 people. Phase three
of the exercise emphasized recovery efforts from phase one and two
storms. Phase three was conducted over the week of May 18 through
22. Phase four of the exercise was the exercise lessons learned and was
held on June 2nd. The change in format allowed the entire state to
FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM - HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER
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participate this year. Many valuable lessons are
always learned from the statewide exercise.
The next meeting of the Florida Emergency
Preparedness Association (FEPA) will be the
Mid-Year Meeting and Workshop to be held
August 12-14 at the Clearwater Beach Hilton.
At the Mid-Year meeting the planning begins
for the Annual Meeting held in February each
year. Also, all of the committee meetings take
place at the Mid-Year meeting. I will have an
update on all that transpires at the Mid-Year
meeting in the next edition of the newsletter.
Now would be an excellent time to check your
hurricane kit. Don’t wait until a storm is
approaching to begin gathering all the things
you may need. Get your items now while
the lines at the stores are normal. Purchase a
few items each week/payday so the expense is
spread out. Check on your insurance coverages
and deductibles. It is much easier to get
prepared when you have time to think about
what you need rather than wait and have to
make the decisions under pressure & stress.
CATEGORY
SUSTAINED
WINDS
Very dangerous winds will
produce some damage: Well-con-
1
74-95 mph
64-82 kt
119-153 km/h
THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE
WIND SCALE is a 1 to 5 categorization based
on the hurricane’s intensity at the indicated
time. The scale was originally developed in
1971 by wind engineer Herb Saffir and
meteorologist Bob Simpson (who was the
director of the National Hurricane Center at
the time.) The scale became known to the
public in 1973.
The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (to
the right) is a 1 to 5 rating based on a
hurricane’s sustained wind speed. This scale
estimates potential property damage.
Hurricanes reaching Category 3 and higher are
considered major hurricanes because of their
potential for significant loss of life and damage.
Category 1 and 2 storms are still dangerous,
however, and require preventative measures.
structed frame homes could have
damage to roof, shingles, vinyl siding
and gutters. Large branches of trees
will snap and shallowly rooted trees
may be toppled. Extensive damage
to power lines and poles likely will
result in power outages that could
last a few to several days.
Extremely dangerous winds
will cause extensive damage:
2
96-110 mph
83-95 kt
154-177 km/h
Well-constructed frame homes
could sustain major roof and siding
damage. Many shallowly rooted trees
will be snapped or uprooted and
block numerous roads. Near-total
power loss is expected with outages
that could last from several days to
weeks.
Devastating damage will occur:
Until next time, stay safe.
WHAT IS THE
SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE?
[CONTENT PROVIDED BY:
THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER]
TYPES OF DAMAGE DUE TO
HURRICANE WINDS
3 (major)
111-129 mph
96-112 kt
178-208 km/h
Well-built framed homes may incur
major damage or removal of roof
decking and gable ends. Many trees
will be snapped or uprooted,
blocking numerous roads.
Electricity and water will be
unavailable for several days to weeks
after the storm passes.
Catastrophic damage will
occur: Well-built framed homes
4 (major)
130-156 mph
113-136 kt
209-251 km/h
can sustain severe damage with loss
of most of the roof structure and/or
some exterior walls. Most trees will
be snapped or uprooted and
power poles downed. Fallen trees
and power poles will isolate
residential areas. Power outages will
last weeks to possibly months. Most
of the area will be uninhabitable for
weeks or months.
Catastrophic damage will occur:
5 (major)
157 mph or
higher
137 kt or
higher
252 km/h or
higher
A high percentage of framed homes
will be destroyed, with total roof
failure and wall collapse. Fallen trees
and power poles will isolate
residential areas. Power outages will
last for weeks to possibly months.
Most of the area will be
uninhabitable for weeks or months.
FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM - HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER
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NOAA EXTREME WEATHER
INFORMATION SHEETS
[NEWIS] AVAILABLE TO
DOWNLOAD
Baker County
http://www.bakercountyfl.org/eoc/eoc.html
NOAA Extreme Weather Information Sheets
(NEWIS) for the Atlantic hurricane season
are published annually by NOAA’s National
Centers for Environmental Information, at the
Stennis Space Center located on the Mississippi
Gulf Coast.
Clay County
http://www.claycountygov.com/departments/emergency-management
These free information tools provide critical
information for contacting government
officials and monitoring information
resources. Laminated and waterproof, NEWIS
are an ideal reference to keep in your home,
vehicle, or boat providing residents with a “onestop” ready reference containing phone
numbers and Web site information for use
during potentially life-threatening weather
emergencies.
There are NEWIS available for the Gulf and
Atlantic states, Caribbean and Hawaii. You can
choose and download free of charge the copy
you need at the following URL: http://www.
ncddc.noaa.gov/activities/weather-ready-nation/newis/ or you can use the link NCDDC@
noaa.gov or call 866-732-2382 to receive a free
laminated copy.
NEWIS is also available
as a free app for Apple
devices. Just search
‘NEWIS” in the ITunes
store to download.
WHERE CAN I GET
HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS
AND EMERGENCY
INFORMATION FOR MY AREA?
Bradford County
http://www.bradfordcountyfl.gov/Emergency%20Man/EMindex.html
Columbia County
http://www.columbiacountyem.com/
Dixie County
http://www.dixieemergency.com/
Duval County
http://www.coj.net/departments/fire-and-rescue/emergency-preparedness.aspx
Gilchrist County
http://www.gilchristemergency.com/
Hamilton County
http://www.hamiltoncountyflorida.com/cd_emergencymanage.aspx
Jacksonville Beach
http://www.jacksonvillebeach.org/government/departments/
fire-and-emergency-services/hurricane-preparedness/hurricane-checklists
Lafayette County
http://www.lafayettecountyflorida.org/index.cfm/referer/content.
contentItem/ID/565/item/538/
Levy County
http://www.levycounty.org/cd_emergencymanagement.aspx
Madison County
http://www.madisoncountyfl.com/emergencymanagement/
Nassau County
http://www.nassaucountyfl.com/index.aspx?NID=370
Putnam County
http://www.putnam-fl.com/bocc/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=179&Itemid=175
Information for your area can be obtained by
going to your County’s Emergency
Management website. The website links for
all FDOT District Two counties are provided
below and to the right.
St. Johns County
http://staugustine.com/hurricaneguide
Alachua County
http://www.alachuacounty.us/Depts/PublicSafety/em/Pages/EmergencyManagement.
aspx
Taylor County
http://www.taylorcountygov.com/em/
Suwanee County
http://www.suwanneefirerescue.com/
Union County
http://www.unionsheriff.us/
FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM - HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER
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HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS
QUICK TIPS
•Plan ahead! Select your evacuation route in advance.
•If you are in the projected path of a hurricane, listen
to evacuation advice or orders from emergency
officials and do not delay your departure.
•Monitor local TV and radio stations for updated
emergency and traffic information.
•As part of your hurricane evacuation plan, assemble
a disaster supplies kit.
•If evacuating, pack your medicine, bring extra cash,
medical insurance card, food and water, etc.
•Don’t forget your pets. Inquire in advance which
hotels and shelters allow pets and remember to pack
their food and necessities.
•Make sure your vehicle is fully fueled and serviced.
•Remember to call 511 or use the Florida 511 app to
get real-time traffic information, but not while you
are driving.
•NEVER drive through standing or moving water.
•Watch out for downed power lines and if you
encounter them do not get out of your car.
NAME THAT HURRICANE
[CONTENT PROVIDED BY:
THE NATIONAL HURRICANE
CENTER]
Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms had been
named from lists originated by the National
Hurricane Center. They are now maintained
and updated through a strict procedure by an
international committee of the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The six lists to the right are used in rotation
and re-cycled every six years, i.e., the 2014 list
will be used again in 2020.
2015
2016
2017
Ana - Tropical
Depression (May)
Bill - Tropical
Depression (June)
Claudette (was a
hurricane in 2003)
Alex
Bonnie
Colin
Danielle
Earl
Fiona
Gaston
Hermine
Ian
Julia
Karl
Lisa
Matthew
Nicole
Otto
Paula
Richard
Shary
Tobias
Virginie
Walter
Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Don
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harvey
Irma
Jose
Katia
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rina
Sean
Tammy
Vince
Whitney
2018
2019
2020
Alberto
Beryl
Chris
Debby
Ernesto
Florence
Gordon
Helene
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Michael
Nadine
Oscar
Patty
Rafael
Sara
Tony
Valerie
William
Andrea
Barry
Chantal
Dorian
Erin
Fernand
Gabrielle
Humberto
Imelda
Jerry
Karen
Lorenzo
Melissa
Nestor
Olga
Pablo
Rebekah
Sebastien
Tanya
Van
Wendy
Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gonzalo
Hanna
Isaias
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paulette
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred
Danny
Erika
Fred
Grace
Henri
Ida
Joaquin
Kate
Larry
Mindy
Nicholas
Odette
Peter
Rose
Sam
Teresa
Victor
Wanda
The only time that there is a change in the list is
if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future
use of its name on a different storm would be
inappropriate for reasons of sensitivity. If that
occurs, then at an annual meeting by the WMO
committee, the offending name is stricken from
the list and another name is selected to replace
it. Several names have been retired since the lists were created.
Retired names of hurricanes affecting Florida include:
•Donna - Category 4 (late August 1960) made landfall in the Florida Keys before crossing the peninsula September 11
•Agnes - Category 1 (June 1972) produced devastating flooding across the Southeast U.S. and caused nine deaths in
Florida mainly from thunderstorms
•Andrew - Category 4 (August 1992) made landfall in Homestead and produced a 17-foot storm surge
FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM - HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER
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•Opal - Category 4 (September 1995) was a Category 3 when it made landfall near Pensacola but a combination of storm
surge and breaking waves devastated the beaches
•Mitch - Category 5 (October 1998) hit Honduras and was downgraded to a tropical storm when it hit South Florida
causing two deaths and $40 million in damages in Florida
•Charley - Category 4 (August 2004) came ashore north of Captiva Island, crossed Central Florida and is tagged the
second costliest hurricane in U.S. history with $15 billion in damages
•Frances - Category 4 (August 2004) was a Category 2 when it made landfall in Stuart and spawned over 100 tornadoes
across the Southeast.
•Ivan - Category 5 (September 2004) came ashore in Gulf Shores, Alabama but circled around through North Carolina and
South Florida before dissipating in Louisiana
•Jeanne - Category 3 (September 2004) came ashore in Stuart where Frances made landfall three weeks earlier and blew
across the peninsula
•Dennis - Category 4 (July 2005) was a Category 3 when it hit Navarre Beach in the Panhandle
•Katrina - Category 5 (August 2005) made landfall near the Miami-Dade/Broward county line as a Category 1, crossed
southern Florida swept into the Gulf where it became a Category 5 when it devastated coastal Alabama, Louisiana and
Mississippi. Katrina caused seven deaths in southern Florida and is the costliest hurricane to date in the U.S.
•Wilma - Category 4 (October 2005) was a Category 2 when it came ashore at Cape Romano, swept across South Florida
and out into the Atlantic near Palm Beach. Wilma is blamed for five deaths and $16.8 billion in damages in southern Florida
Before storms were named:
Great Miami Hurricane - Category 4 (September 1926) made landfall in Miami, swept across South Florida and made
second landfall in Pensacola.
San Felipe - Okeechobee Hurricane - Category 4 (September 1928) made landfall in Palm Beach and swept up the middle
of the state.
Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane - Category 5 (late August 1935) made landfall in the Florida Keys, swept up the Gulf
coast and made second landfall in Cedar Key as a Category 2.
IN THE NEWS...
[EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT LEADERS APPLAUD GOV. SCOTT’S “KEEP
FLORIDA WORKING” BUDGET]
Gov. Rick Scott signed the “Keep Florida Working” budget, which includes a $4.5 million investment to develop a statewide
emergency alert notification system, June 23. According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), the
system will protect lives and
reduce National Flood Insurance Policy (NFIP) premiums by $47
million across the state.
FDEM director Bryan Koon said, “The statewide emergency notification system will allow a uniform method for delivering
immediate
information needed to save lives. The system is also a unique
opportunity to use a relatively small investment to return ten times that amount in flood insurance savings to the people of
Florida.”
The new system will reduce premiums paid by NFIP policyholders, through the NFIP Community Ratings System (CRS), a
points-based program allowing enrolled communities to earn reduced flood
insurance premiums. Communities earning 500 points in CRS will be rewarded with a five percent savings to policyholders. The new statewide notification system will provide CRS communities with 395 of the 500 required points.
For more information or to download a copy of Florida’s Severe Weather Awareness Guide, visit www.FloridaDisaster.org.
FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM - HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER
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[FLORIDA EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS
ASSOCIATION (FEPA) MIDYEAR MEETING IN AUGUST]
The FEPA 2015 Mid-Year Meeting and Work
Session will be held at the Clearwater Beach
Hilton August 12-14. There is a nominal registration fee of $25 for FEPA members and $50
for non-FEPA members. For more information
visit www.fepa.org.
[29TH ANNUAL GOVERNOR’S
HURRICANE CONFERENCE®]
“Rethink Resilience” Connecting Capabilities
for Stronger Communities
Re • sil • ience | \rǝ-ꞌzil-yǝn(t)s\ | noun: the
ability to withstand stressand catastrophe;
to become strong, healthy, or successful again
after something bad happens.
Florida’s emergency management community
and stakeholder partners all recognize the
danger and threat of tropical cyclones, our
state’s top natural hazard risk. Yet eroding
budgets, shifting priorities, loss of seasoned
experience through staff attrition, and our
communities’ expanded expectations, are
threatening Florida’s hurricane resilience; these
challenges are further complicated by an
unprecedented nine-year landfall hiatus
coupled with the dangerous growth of
community complacency.
This year marked the 29th anniversary of the
Governor’s Hurricane Conference®, where
partners and colleagues came together to
enhance professional knowledge and foster
interagency fusion and cooperation. The
Governor’s Hurricane Conference® is the
nation’s largest forum offering cutting-edge
sessions that help build capacity, clarify
cross-sector policy, leverage previously
unidentified resources, and explore new
technologies in social media and innovative
communications systems. The 2015 conference
was specifically structured to present
information in a dynamic and
network-centered atmosphere while providing
opportunities for emergency management
practitioners in Florida and across the country
to learn from experts and each other, and to
create more effective partnerships. Working
and learning together gives us a significant
advantage to successfully rethink our
hurricane resilience and to collaboratively plan
and improve our readiness.
With more than 41 training sessions and 45 workshops, the Governor’s
Hurricane Conference® remains the premier event for the delivery of
training and education at an economical price. This year’s training
sessions, workshops, and general session focused on new methods to
“Rethink Resilience.”
Presentations from the conference area available to download at http://
flghc.org/
FDOT PHONE BANK PROVIDES VALUABLE
SERVICE
During a response to or recovery from a disaster or emergency affecting
large areas or populations, the Florida Department of
Transportation (FDOT) Public Information Office may activate a
non-emergency
information phone bank.
A non-emergency information phone bank is designed to provide
event-specific information, such as road closures, evacuation areas,
access points, etc.
During a disaster or emergency event, the public information officers
are inundated with incoming phone calls and emails from the media
which require immediate and thorough attention.
The general public also calls for information related to the emergency
event that does not necessarily require the immediate attention of a
public information officer. The non-emergency phone bank is staffed
with FDOT volunteer employees who answer the incoming non-media related calls in a timely manner, freeing up the public information
officers to answer more critical calls and allowing them to disseminate
timely information to the media.
The 888-558-1518 number to the phone bank is used year-round. When
the phone bank is not activated, the number is used to deliver
recorded information about planned road closures such as railroad
crossing replacements or long-term closures of bridges or roadways.
In the event of a statewide event, the Florida Emergency Information Line
is operated by the Department of Emergency Management. The number
(800-342-3557) is answered in Tallahassee and provides basic information
on travel, shelters, etc.
THE 2016 NATIONAL HURRICANE CONFERENCE
IS MARCH 21-24 AT THE HILTON ORLANDO
LINK FOR MORE INFO HTTP://HURRICANEMEETING.COM/
FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM - HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER
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MORE INFORMATION AND WEBSITES
[CAN BE FOUND AT THE URLS PROVIDED BELOW]
Video of the Governor’s Hurricane Conference 5/13/15: General Session
http://thefloridachannel.org/videos/51315-governors-hurricane-conference-general-session/
Hurricane Preparedness Week: May 24-30, 2015
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/hurricane_preparedness.html#.VZqAmUaTQ3n
Article: NOAA: “Below-normal Atlantic Hurricane Season is likely this year”
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2015/20150527-noaa-hurricane-outlook-below-normal-atlantic-hurricane-season-is-likely-this-year.html
Current Wind, weather and ocean conditions, as forecast by supercomputers, on an interactive animated map. Updated
every 3 hours. (source: Governor’s Hurricane Conference Facebook page)
http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-94.64,28.89,2048
Article and video from The Weather Channel: “Below-Normal 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted by NOAA”
http://www.weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-season-forecast-atlantic-2015-noaa-weather-channel-csu
Hurricane Preparedness provided by NOAA
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/ready.php
Climate Prediction Center
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
National Hurricane Center
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Florida Division of Emergency Management
http://www.floridadisaster.org/index.asp
Tips on how you can better prepare for hurricane season:
http://www.ready.gov/
Central Florida Hurricane Center
http://flhurricane.com/
Governor’s Hurricane Conference Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FloridaGHC?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FloridaGHC
NOAA NWS National Hurricane Center Social Media for the Atlantic:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWSNHC?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NHC_Atlantic
FDOT DISTRICT TWO TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM - HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS NEWSLETTER
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