Tropical weather forecast provides opportunity to 'be prepared' for hurricane season

Plan, plan, plan.

That was the word of the morning Thursday as Florida's Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis came to Lee County as a part of his disaster preparedness initiative, Prepare Florida.

"You gotta prepare now for the hurricanes," Patronis said. "This week is hurricane preparedness week. So, what does that mean? It means we're going to give you discounts, we'll give you your sales tax back, on things like batteries, lanterns, supplies, even dog food."

Patronis promoted the Preparefl.com website and could not urge planning enough, stressing that residents getting everything in place for a possible hurricane, even if one doesn't come, provides peace of mind.

"With Hurricane Michael (Oct. 10, 2018) everyone went to bed the night before on October the 9 and it was a (category) 2 out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and most people are not going to take a Cat 2 very seriously," he said. "By that morning it was a strengthening Category 4 and it was too late to evacuate."

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Patronis said shelters of all types will be ready and open in the event of a hurricane.

"We want you out of harm's way," he said.

Patronis urged residents to make a record of the outside and inside of their homes, condos or apartments and store it in a safe spot in the event of a disaster so that damage could be compared to original condition.

"Your smart phone is actually a pretty good tool when it comes to disaster preparedness," he said. "If you do nothing else, go take a picture of the outside of your house, take a little video, you know, point out that there are no trees leaning on your house. Do the same thing inside your house, you know, your TV, your floor coverings, your wall coverings."

Patronis suggested emailing that visual record to yourself. "Put it in a virtual place," he said. "Here's the reality. Disaster is going to strike. Unfortunately Mother Nature loves coming to Florida."

Approaching tropical disturbance to bring weekend deluge

The briefing came at an appropriate time with a strong weather system likely bearing down on the southern end of the state.

A weekend forecast from The National Weather Service in Tampa said that, regardless of development, areas of heavy rainfall are likely to spread across southern and central Florida and the Florida Keys on Friday. The Friday night forecast includes with heavy rains that could cause scattered to numerous flash floods across South Florida and the Florida Keys.

The weather system is the remnants of Hurricane Agatha that transitioned across Mexico earlier in the week and, as of Thursday, was positioned just off the Yucatan Peninsula and scraping the southwestern shore of Cuba.

Patronis was joined by Fort Myers Fire Chief Tracey McMillion, Lee County Commissioner vice chairman Ray Sandelli, Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson, Larry Antonucci, CEO and president of Lee Health, and Shane Sibert, program manager for Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 6.

All hammered home hurricane preparedness in SWFL.

"It's time to get prepared," McMillion said. "Just a reminder. Last year Hurricane Elsa developed very early, somewhere around July 2 or so, and became a storm. We as Floridians know this, we know it all too well, that the next big storm or hurricane could come our way at any time. So we urge you to plan and prepare."

Bookmark this link: Track all active storms with this interactive map

Assess your risk

McMillion said the best time to plan and find what your risks are is well before a disaster hits.

"Some of the questions you should be asking 'What are my evacuation zones, do I live in a flood zone," he said. "Hopefully, you are prepared with your essential supplies by now and have an emergency supply kit. If not, do it today."

McMillion urged residents to take advantage of the sales tax holiday that runs through June 10.

Sandelli also highlighted the sale tax week: "With the 2022 Hurricane Season starting this week, now is the time to get the necessary supplies and plan in place. When the power is out and resources are limited, you will thank yourself for having a well thought out disaster plan in place.”

Antonucci stressed that Lee Health would remain open during any hurricane event.

"Lee Health is ready," the hospital CEO said. "We have been working for weeks"

Patronis also lauded the members of USAR 6, based in Southwest Florida, for their dedication to disaster response.

"They deal with extraordinary conditions, but, you know what? They signed up for this job because they love this job," Patronis said. "They're public servants, they don't do it for the money, they do it because they care about what they do for this state. They are the same men and women who responded to Surfside, the same men and women who responded to Hurricane Michael. It doesn't matter where the disaster is."

Patronis also highlighted the $10 million appropriated by the Florida legislature in the past year, the first such funds since 2006, for the state's eight urban search and rescue teams.

The 90+ member task force is composed of firefighters, paramedics, and specialists from over 12 agencies within the Southwest Florida region. Task force members also include volunteer specialists in structural engineering, emergency medicine, canine search & other specialties.

Hurricane information

As part of the sales tax holiday, some stores are also offering hurricane classes. For example, on Saturday all Lowe’s stores in Florida will host a free in-person hurricane prep workshop beginning at 10 a.m.

Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com. 

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Tropical system in Gulf of Mexico a reminder to plan ahead