Public Safety Signals

Tropical Storm leaves havoc for emergency management

2008 Aug 27 Posted by Charles

Greetings - the following comment is from Dr. Marian Mosser. She is the newest member of our blog team.

Tropical Storm Fay Gone but Not Forgotten

On August 16, 2008, the State of Florida was declared to be under the threat of Tropical Storm Fay by the National Hurricane Center, Miami, Florida. The Hurricane Center projected that Tropical Storm Fay would move westward through the Gulf of Mexico and then would threaten the entire State of Florida. Governor Christ issued Executive Order 08-170 took effect at 1409 hours August 16, 2008, which declared that a state of emergency applied to entire state of Florida. He declared that “Tropical Storm Fay posed a serious threat to the public health, safety, and welfare”. The declaration established that the Director of Emergency Management, Craig Fugate as authorized to activate the state’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and other response and recovery, and mitigation plans. As the State coordinating Officer Mr. Fugate was authorized to issue this Emergency Final Order and suspend any statute, rule, or order that prevent, hinder, or delay timely performance of disaster response functions related to the emergency. As Floridians prepared little did they know that Fay would make four different landfalls, on the state, and that flooding would surpass or match water mark levels set by all three hurricanes during 2004.

Fay was an unusual tropical storm, even by Florida standards. It first made landfall in the Florida Keys on Monday, August 18, then headed out over open water again before hitting a second time at Cape Romano near Naples on August 19, the southwest coast. It limped across the state, popped back out into the Atlantic Ocean and struck again near Flagler Beach on the central coast and finally making a record fourth landfall on the Florida Panhandle August 23, about 15 miles north-northeast of Apalachicola. Fay was a slow moving tropical system that produced significant rainfall and flooding hazards, as well as several tornados. Damage assessments are still being conducted but in the State of Florida there are 13 deaths from this storm and one dozen injured. Since leaving Florida, Fay dropped as much as 6 inches of rain across parts of Mississippi, Alabama, eastern Louisiana, western Georgia.
Less than two weeks after Tropical Storm Fay pelted Cuba with heavy rains and thousands of Cubans were evacuated; Cuban authorities are now warning the island’s 11 million inhabitants to prepare for a potentially devastating storm. This new storm now named Gustav, which was a Category 1 hurricane when it made landfall in Haiti on Tuesday, August 26 is likely to regain hurricane intensity. Expert’s forecast shows Gustav entering the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday or Sunday as a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 mph (179 kph). So again Floridians and those along the Gulf of Mexico are preparing. After all it is hurricane season!

August 27, 2008 | Filed under: Capella, Capella University, Charles Tiffin, Law enforcement, Public Safety Signals, Public safety, disaster, education, homeland security, online degrees, online university
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