Matt Reed: Time to take 'canes seriously

Got your batteries and Pop Tarts?

11:44 PM, Jul. 8, 2013  |  Comments
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All it takes is one Category-1 hurricane to unzip your roof, soak your living room and snuff power to your neighborhood for days.

So get ready. Hurricane season is underway.

For insight, I interviewed Kimberly Prosser, Brevard County's director of emergency management.

Question: Every year, we publish predictions of how many "named storms" will form and how many of those will be major. If none makes landfall in Florida, does that mean the projections were off?

Prosser: Not at all. Last year, it was predicted to be a slightly below-average season, and it was an average season. The storms still occur. Whether they make landfall in the United States is not what's calculated.

Q:Who should evacuate during a storm and under what circumstances?

Prosser: If there is an Atlantic-approaching hurricane, we evacuate the barrier island. If you are across that causeway, you should plan to go to the mainland.

It's the storm surge. We want to make sure people are on the mainland, where they can get help if they need it.

If you have a manufactured or mobile home, we would recommend you evacuate that.

Q:What myths do you hear this time of year?

Prosser: I'm sure you've heard the one about Brevard County not getting hurricanes. People say, "Oh, that's why Kennedy Space Center was put here."

That's not true in any form or fashion. The space center was put here because it was close to the equator, most launch trajectories are from west to east, and there's a large ocean nearby where they could retrieve reusable parts.

Q: What other bad advice do you hear?

Prosser: There's a myth that you can tape your windows to protect them during hurricanes. We're hoping people don't still believe that one. But on the "Today Show," they gave that out as a recommendation.

We really recommend hurricane shutters. Plywood would even be better.

Q:From your position, knowing all the variables that could go wrong, what worries you most?

Prosser: The thing that worries me the most is hurricane "amnesia." We haven't been hit by a hurricane for a long time. In fact, the last time we had hurricane-force sustained winds in Brevard County was in 1979 with Hurricane David.

Q:What's the biggest worry after a storm?

Prosser: One thing is access to the beachside. We want to make sure those areas are safe before people are let back in. You want to make sure there are no power lines down or roads that are washed out.

A lot of people don't realize that law enforcement and the fire departments are not staying on the beachside during a storm. They evacuate.

So if you stay on the barrier island and need assistance, they're not going to be able to get to you.

If winds are 40 mph, it's too dangerous for a high-profile vehicle to travel over the causeways.

Q:What is the "cone of uncertainty" we see on those tracking maps on TV?

Prosser: When the National Hurricane Center puts out a map, it shows you the position of the storm and where it might go. Many people think if their location doesn't show up in that cone, they don't have to worry. That's not quite true.

First, the cone is correct only 67 percent of the time. Second, that cone shows the possible routes for the center of the storm. Third, a storm is hundreds of miles wide.

Q:What's the most important thing to keep on hand for a hurricane?

Prosser: You want to make sure you have a minimum of three days' supply of water and nonperishable foods for you, your children and pets ... along with any prescription drugs.

I just read that the most popular hurricane food supply is blueberry Pop Tarts.

Q:What will FEMA do - or not do - after the next storm?

Prosser: FEMA can only come in after a request from the governor based on a decision that damage is so extensive the county and the state will not be able to meet needs in that area. Then there are two types of assistance: for public infrastructure, and for individual residents. You can't count on those things.

Q:Last time, FEMA brought ice, and a lot of hot, grumpy people waited in lines for it. Will we be treated to that again?

Prosser: FEMA does not deliver ice anymore. And neither does the state of Florida.


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