Pine Island leaders speak on what they learned in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian: Have a plan
Pine Island Elementary School Principal, Tom Millins believes developing a plan of action prior and after the storm is critical for the safety of all stakeholders.
“As the reality of the storm was heading to Southwest Florida, it became apparent that initiating our plan was critical. In addition, communication before and after the storm is and was critical to share with our stakeholders before and after the storm. For example, after the storm, our staff members developed a plan to locate every staff member and student. This required all staff members to assist in the process. Some of the students were in Cape Coral, while others evacuated to other states and some remained on the island. We created a master list and checked off each name when a staff member located a student. It was joyful when we identified every staff and student family,” Millins said.
Matlacha Pine Island Fire Control Chief Ben Mickuleit and Assistant Chief of EMS Cody Allen each said they would encourage everyone both to adhere to any mandated evacuation preceding a hurricane and have a plan in place.
“Taking all the 9-1-1 calls on our cell phones from community members during the storm was traumatic, and going through that again would be really really difficult for us,” Mickuleit said of Hurricane Ian.
According to Allen, the fact that a mass amount of people were affected by Hurricane Ian made it a trying task to make sure those who remained on island had what they’d needed to survive.
“Having a plan in place — regardless of whether it’s just a tropical storm, or a major hurricane — having that plan in place for you and your family, is truly important when you have no access to power, food, water, shelter — having those plans soon and early can make all the difference,” Allen said.
Because directions come directly from the county in the event of a mandatory evacuation, Mickuleit said, all those plans were in place during Hurricane Ian. Measures such as, where to go, which crew would stay on island, and where equipment belongs, played out really well, he said.
“We had the boats on the other side of the bridge, so access wasn’t an issue for us. The one thing we learned was, the importance of creating more partnerships beforehand — not only the community but also county and state-wide,” Mickuleit said.
These partnerships are important in the event of an emergency to be certain resources are available when necessary. For example, if there had been an established connection with a barge company prior to Hurricane Ian, there could have been plans in place to ship supplies in sooner, he said.
Allen said the utilization of available community member resources played a paramount role in the rescue and cleanup success throughout the disaster. While some local resources are commonly known learning where other assets may be in the event of a future catastrophe would be optimal, Mickuleit added.
“We know the big ones, like Honc and some of the farms that had fuel and heavy equipment, but there’s a lot of other talent and skills out there that we’re probably not even aware of. We would like to thank the community for all their help during the storm. Their help truly made a difference in our operations,” Mickuleit said.
The Matlacha Pine Island Fire Control District includes this website for members of the community to register for the special needs shelter in the event a hurricane is imminent and they need to evacuate. The special needs shelter services individuals who require medical care or need extra assistance that cannot be provided at regular emergency shelters. They must be registered prior to Lee County being in the forecast cone for a storm: https://www.leegov.com/publicsafety/emergencymanagement/plan/ahg/spnshelters
This is the PDF link for the Lee County All Hazards Guide: https://www.leegov.com/publicsafety/Documents/Emergency%20Management/All%20Hazards%20Guide%20-%202022%20-%209.26.pdf
Pine Island Winn Dixie store manager Dan Loughren was instrumental in helping the Pine Island community during the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in a number of ways. Although he admits there’s not much he would do differently, he said the things he learned about the unique qualities of Pine Island in the face of calamity are innumerable.
“We learned how special our island is. The people are resilient in helping one another,” Loughren said.
Since it has been many years since the island faced a storm like Ian, Loughren said that perhaps people weren’t as prepared as they will be in the future. He believes, in the wake of another hurricane warning, many people who stayed on the island when Ian blew in wold likely leave. Loughren said he felt obligated to open the store as soon as possible, so those in need might be able to get supplies. In fact, with the permission and direction of Winn Dixie corporate headquarters, he was able to help anyone who came to his store.
“We gave away four tractor trailer loads of food, ice, water, and store supplies — we were just giving away anything that anybody needed. Thanks to the president and CEO of SE Grocers giving the go-ahead, we were able to do quite a bit,” Loughren said.
The most important thing that he, along with the great majority, brought away from the experience is a need to be better prepared in the future. Although the store wasn’t lacking for much, Loughren believes an endcap designated for hurricane supplies would be a useful and practical idea.
“The whole experience was just very surreal. We had the National Guard out here keeping things orderly for us. It was just wild to see that. My main takeaway is how strong Pine Island is and how everybody hung in there and helped each other out. We are a part of the community, so we were glad to help people,” he said.
The best advice Loughren has to offer is to stock up on supplies, such as, first aid kits, water, candles, and batteries, as hurricane season approaches once again, most especially on an island, where one could be cut off from the mainland.
“Don’t wait. Get everything on hand as early as you can because you’re going to forget stuff. My advice would be to stock up sooner — don’t wait until there’s a storm coming to stock up, ” Loughren said.
He recommends taking advantage of sales on canned goods and useful supplies before they are necessary.
“You really learn a lot when you go through something like this. People were giving away tarps and all sorts of extra stuff — if they had it, they would give it to other people. That’s what makes the island so special,” Loughren said.
To reach PAULETTE LeBLANC / pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com, please email