A day-long event that recapped the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the 2024 trifecta of hurricanes brought together experts from academia, local emergency managers and elected officials. Hosted by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC), the University of South Florida (USF) and the Patel Family Foundation, the event featured U.S. Representative Kathy Castor and USF President Rhea Law.
“It was important that we all meet while the hurricanes are still fresh on our minds,” said Wren Krahl, TBRPC executive director. “Today’s session was a powerful reminder that recovery and planning for the future are not just data points on a chart – it’s a united effort among stakeholders and community leaders. We brought the thinkers and the doers from across the region to tackle some of our biggest challenges.”
Along with built infrastructure, the event focused on how community leaders can build social networks that help residents prepare and then recover from natural disasters, noted Elizabeth Dunn, a researcher with the USF College of Public Health specializing in global disaster management and humanitarian relief. “I’ve been working in this space for over 20 years, so it’s a real pleasure to see these conversations. It’s really important, when we’re talking about preparation and recovery, that we get it right.”
Emergency managers from six counties – including Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Hillsborough and Manatee – shared how the hurricanes impacted their communities as well as their immediate and planned long-term responses to help residents and infrastructure recover. Improved communications, both with county staff, within the region and with residents, was an issue that managers consistently raised, emphasizing year-round initiatives.
“We had evacuation orders, we had social media, we provided transportation for anyone who needed it, but we still heard about a family with a young baby rescued from a barrier island,” said Cathie Perkins, director of emergency management in Pinellas County.
Another issue was the inland flooding caused by the three hurricanes, with another heavy rainfall event in the middle, that caused flooding in Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties. “We had places where people had been living for generations, and they’d never seen anything like that,” said David DeCarlo, emergency manager director in Hernando County.
“The flood may have receded, but I still have trucks pumping out water in some neighborhoods. Those houses have been underwater for more than a month but people on the river are resilient, they’re stubborn and they don’t want to leave. That’s their house, their most prized possession, their most prized memories – all gone,” DeCarlo said.
“So I just want to put this out there – along with the wraparound services like cleaning supplies, Tyvek suits and transitional housing — we need to add mental health services.”
Recovering from three major storms will be a long-term process, adds Krahl. “I think we all walked away from this event with far more knowledge about what happened on the ground and with a much deeper understanding of the long-term challenges we face as we ‘build back better’ as a region.”
Originally published Dec. 20, 2024