- May 1, 2024
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With hurricane season beginning June 1, Flagler County Emergency Management Chief Troy Harper advises residents to be prepared.
Florida’s hurricane season officially started June 1, and Flagler County Emergency Management Chief Troy Harper tours the inside of the Emergency Operations Center, putting his passion for disaster preparedness to use by preaching the gospel of proactivity.
“This is a bunker,” he said of the EOC. “It looks just like the other buildings in the (government services) complex, but it’s not.”
Inside, behind 11.5-inch thick concrete walls and massive flood doors, below a roof capable of sustaining 200-mile-per-hour winds, is a NASA-like control room, equipped with lines of computers and lighted by flat-screen TVs. This is the center’s “just-in-case” room. According to Harper, it gets used once about every six years.
“Prepare this year as if this were the year we’re going to get hit,” he said, “… as if it’s going to hit your backyard.”
The employees at the EOC are trained to handle disasters from hurricane and fire, to pandemics and terrorism. The EOC’s amenities include sleeping quarters, an industrial kitchen, a broadcast booth, a TV studio, a 911 center, generators the size of offices and a decontamination room.
If Flagler were to suffer a larger scale event like a major hurricane with winds faster than 111 mph, this is where workers would manage resources, lead rescue crews and direct communication.
Harper flips through slides on a computer projector. Flagler has never in record been hit directly by an Atlantic hurricane, he said, clicking through photos of storm paths curving up and off the coast. “But we’ve had brush-backs, near-misses.”
Take Floyd in 1999, he said, a Category-4 that stayed 70 miles offshore. “If that storm would have hit us directly, it would have been Katrina for Flagler.”
He shrugs: “It’s pure luck that we haven’t gotten hit with the big one yet.”
For preparation, Harper said it’s most important not to procrastinate.
Hurricane season runs from June 1 through the end of November, traditionally with a mid-September peak, he said.
He advises residents to make use of EOC resources, like CodeRed — the automated emergency notification system — and the county’s free Disaster Preparedness Guide, which is available in any government building as well as local big box retailers.
When it comes to evacuation, do so regionally to avoid traffic bottlenecks, he said. And consider not leaving unless you’re asked. Or leaving early.
Be prepared to lose luxuries. “If you can survive without (Internet, phone and TV) for seven days in your home — you’re prepared,” he said.
Invest in door-strengthening kits or window/door coverings. “The garage door is one of the weakest points in the home,” he said. But don’t tape home or car windows; that doesn’t work, he said.
Establish a central point of contact with friends and family, ideally an out-of-state relative.
Stockpile 30 days worth of prescription medications; retrofit aged homes; prune trees and bring in lawn furniture to prevent flying debris.
“Complacency is another issue,” he said, the crackle of a radio scanner behind him. “Don’t try to prepare tomorrow. Don’t become a statistic.”
For more, visit www.Flagler Emergency.com.
