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Hernando Today

Public Input Welcome For Disaster Plan

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: March 24, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Think of it as a blueprint for apocalypse recovery.

When natural disasters strike Hernando County, officials need a plan to bring order to the chaos. The document they turn to is called the "local mitigation strategy."

Within its pages you can find worst-case scenarios, how much it will cost the county and recommended steps to limit the damage. A direct hit from a hurricane, for instance, could cause as much as $2.1 billion in damage in Hernando County.

The mitigation strategy was developed by a committee of more than 20 people in 2004. That committee is now reconvening to update the mitigation strategy after five years, as required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Part of the process is taking suggestions and recommendations from the public.

Emergency Management Director Cecilia Patella said Tuesday that having a current plan opens the door to federal recovery money. Following the hurricanes of 2004, Hernando County qualified for just under $1 million. Because local emergency management was proactive with its planning, however, it gained an edge over other counties and actually received closer to $2 million.

"Some counties don't have the foresight … and literally leave the money on the table," Patella said. "It is in the best interest of everyone in the county to maintain this committee."

If you want to make an informed opinion, the mitigation strategy is available for public review at Hernando County Emergency Management's headquarters. Here's some of what you can find:

The greatest risks to Hernando County are listed in this order: hurricanes/coastal storms; floods; sinkholes; wildfires; severe storms and tornadoes; droughts/heat waves; and winter storms/freezes.

Low on the list are tsunamis, landslides and earthquakes.

While there have been several close calls, the last hurricane to make landfall in Hernando County was in 1921. There is also the infamous "no name" storm of 1993, which destroyed $55 million worth of property.

Calculating damage is done by averaging property values in specific areas, beginning with the most vulnerable coastal communities of Hernando Beach, Bayport and Pine Island.

A Category 3 storm with a 21-foot storm surge would impact 3,825 homes on the west side of the county. Also taken into consideration is the impact done to 25 miles of roads and sewer lines, along with 55 "critical facilities." A critical facility is considered buildings such as fire stations, sewer pumps and medical clinics.

Including damage to business, infrastructure and homes on the east side, repair costs could rise to $2.1 billion.

While the west side has its hurricanes, the east side of the county has a "long history of flooding," the mitigation strategy notes. The rivers and lakes cited as dangers in the report are now sluggish puddles in 2009.

Since the report was published in 2004, Hernando County and the Tampa Bay area have been gripped by a severe drought. It's been two years now since once-a-week watering restrictions were put in place.

The drought assessment five years ago proves prophetic: "It is very likely that cycles of reduced rains will continue to cause hydrological drought in the future."

If you go:

What: Public meeting to provide input on the Hernando County Local Mitigation Strategy.

When: 1 p.m., Thursday, April 9.

Where: Hernando County Emergency Operations Center, 18900 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville.

For more information: Contact Teresa Hill, 352-754-4083.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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