Florida to Emphasize Storm Preparedness to Residents

In the wake of Hurricane Wilma, state and local emergency management administrators said Thursday that they were determined to lower residents’ expectations about how fast the area can recover from a storm and get relief supplies.

Officials holding a daylong discussion about Wilma and its aftermath laid out lengthy plans to improve how storms are handled. They want more backup generators for utilities, better communication on when power will be restored, more tree-trimming, the identification of long-term shelters, a countywide plan on how to manage intersections that lack operable traffic signals and more home-delivery of supplies to the elderly and disabled.

But they cautioned that Wilma showed how difficult it could be to immediately launch relief efforts and quickly restore services in a large urban area.

“The expectations are getting to a point that we’re doomed for failure,” said Eric Tolbert, a former high-ranking official of the Federal Emergency Management Agency who is a consultant to Broward County.

The message that families should have enough food, water and other household supplies to last three days on their own will be publicized before the start of the 2006 hurricane season. Gov. Jeb Bush wanted relief supplies to be on hand within a day after Wilma hit Oct. 24, but that led to repeated missteps in Broward County, where supplies did not arrive at the right places on time or in sufficient quantities.

“We lost sight that in the first 72 hours the citizen is responsible,” Oakland Park’s fire marshal, Bruce Ward, said. “It takes that long for us to get our network in place. People expect once the storm stops blowing, their lights will be on and they can have a hot meal. It’s not realistic.”

About a month after Wilma hit, one out of six people who are waiting for a temporary trailer for housing have received it. Hotel rooms and apartments are difficult to find for victims. One state emergency management official said authorities had wanted to have everyone out of the remaining emergency shelter before Thanksgiving, but that they now were aiming to empty the shelter this weekend.