Hurricane Ian. PHOTO: NOAA

As the largest and costliest storm in the Cape Coral’s history is still being felt nine months later, hurricane season waits for no one, and preparedness is key.

Cape Coral’s Emergency Management Division, as always, is planning to best protect residents if and when another storm is forecasted to impact the area. As many know, no matter what meteorologists predict about the Atlantic Hurricane season early on, it just takes one storm to make it an active year.

Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Ryan Lamb and National Weather Service of Tampa Bay Area Meteorologist Daniel Noah, spoke to city staff in regard to how to keep vigilant from June 1 to Nov. 30.

“The way the weather warning system works in our country is called the Integrated Warning Team,” Noah said.

Media communicates the threat to the public, the National Weather Service communicates threats to decision makers in local Emergency Operations Centers, and those individual municipality’s emergency divisions works to plan, respond, and recover for the community.

Noah said the NWS’s main job during storms is to work with decision makers and emergency management during events.

One of the hardest things to measure is a hurricane’s most deadly aspect, and that’s storm surge.

“There are a bunch of different factors that go into that calculation,” Noah said.

Storm surge can last more than several hours, and during Ian, the worst of the surge lasted four.

Noah said an important takeaway for residents when a storm is approaching is to not focus on the “cone of uncertainty,” but to focus on impacts.

“The cone is great, but we don’t want you to use it when you’re within three days of impact,” he said. “The cone only tells us where the center of the storm is likely to be, it doesn’t tell us where the impacts are.”

Although forecasters for the first time in seven years are not predicting an above-average Atlantic Hurricane season, Noah and Lamb reminded residents to never take a season lightly.

Noah pointed to 1992 being predicted as a significantly below average season. It produced Category 5 Hurricane Andrew, which devastated Florida and resulted in major code changes for the state.

Noah said a challenge in Ian — and nearly every season — is how to make “diehards” evacuate out of harm’s way.

According to his charts, about 21% are “first out” and anxious and eager to leave if a storm is in the forecast; 14% are “constrained,” meaning they are aware of risks and willing to evacuate but face barriers; 16% are “optimists” and doubt a hurricane will occur but are willing to evacuate; 27% are “reluctant” but will leave if ordered to; and 22% are “diehards” and confident they can safely ride out the hurricane at home.

Cape Coral implanted many different forms of response during Ian, and will do so again, with modification. That includes hygiene stations, points of distribution (POD), SOS squads, and aqua points of distribution.

“Hygiene stations weren’t exactly in our plan (last year), but we’re going to incorporate them deeper,” Lamb said. “They were well received and needed for our community.”

Lamb said PODs are run by the National Guard to a certain point, and then turned over to the city. He said staff is working to best adapt to that switch.

SOS squads were an on-the-fly implementation that worked well, assisting those who had lost their home or vehicle. Lamb said those teams will again be part of the prepare and response plan for the city.

The city’s Emergency Operations Center on Southeast 9th Avenue serves as the home base for a multitude of personnel who all share the same goal of being in the best possible position to inform and respond when a major weather event is on the horizon. With the city continuing to grow, Lamb noted there are hopes to expand the center in the near future.

Lamb said the city’s staging area for response post-storm is something for which they need to continue to find the best practice. During Ian, the location was at Sun Splash Family Waterpark.

“However, the area where a lot of our generators and message boards and tarps were delivered, are soon going to be pickleball courts,” he said. “And so, we’ve got to improvise and adapt for where that future place is going to be. We’ve got some ideas and a plan for the next local staging area we’d like to implement.”

Moving information and requests through the chain of county, to state, to federal, can be a timely process. Cape Coral sends multiple representatives to the Lee County EOC, and are hoping to get a county representative to come to the city’s EOC to bridge the information gap.

“Also (we’re) working with the state DEM (Department of Emergency Management) on some efforts that depending on the resources (information and requests) would go to the county and the state simultaneously, that way we could pick up some speed getting quicker through some of those backlogs.”

When a storm looks as if it could make impact with in the area, it is up to the city manager to declare a state of emergency. Then, the city manager, Lamb, police chief, and public works director come together and lead the city’s efforts collectively.

Local fire houses will prepare their stations for impact based on severity of the storm, and possibly prep for additional staffing, needed equipment or the transfer of equipment/repositioning of a department.

Public Works officials will depart throughout the city to inspect weir levels to make sure storm water management is in place. They clear culverts out, as well as storm drains to ensure the ability to transfer large amounts of rain.

Law enforcement will ready generators to potentially restore power to major intersection traffic lights.

It’s at the EOC where the coordination of all these agencies takes place to ensure a smooth process and to scout what areas of the city need response.

City officials preached the importance of being neighborly, and sharing information with those around you to make sure they are up to date. Many during a storm may not have the same access or channels of information as others, so it’s pertinent during a major even those around you are kept in the know.

“Share, share, share,” said city spokesperson Melissa Mickey. “Take an active role in the information you receive.”

Hurricane kits this year should include hand-crank radio to get information over the airwaves if individuals are not able to access television or internet.

The city also is looking into mobile electronic boards and sandwich boards with city messaging to put in major intersections.

Cape Coral will host a Hurricane Seminar on June 20 in City Council Chambers (1015 Cultural Park Blvd.) from 5 to 8 p.m.

Residents can visit www.capecoralfire.com for more information on the city’s emergency response division, as well as evacuation zones, the Lee County All Hazards Guide, and personal preparedness tips.

Follow the city and fire department’s social media accounts for the most up to date information during the hurricane season.

The Breeze Newspapers 2023 Hurricane Guide may be found on this website where weather updates will also be posted throughout the hurricane season.