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Tag: hurricane season 2021

Prepare your house, pool and yard

Written by Sun staff on . Posted in Hurricane Guide Archives.

Here’s how to secure your home, pool and yard before a storm.

 Home preparation

  • Install shutters on all openings, including windows, doors, sliding glass doors, French doors and garage doors
  • If using plywood, purchase 5/8″ thick plywood well before a storm arrives, pre-measure, pre-drill and label each piece, or buy clips to attach plywood to window frames
  • Install impact resistant windows
  • Caulk or install weather stripping around windows
  • Install three door hinges on outside doors
  • Install deadbolts that extend one inch into the door jamb on outside doors
  • Repair loose or missing roof shingles
  • Inspect soffits for adequate fasteners
  • Replace loose or missing soffits
  • Outside, seal openings from air conditioning refrigerant lines, water heater pressure relief lines, water pipes, cable and satellite TV wires, telephone wires, Internet wires and exhaust fan vents from bathroom, kitchen, clothes dryer
  • Inside, seal around electrical boxes and circuit breaker panels, electrical outlets, exhaust fan vents
  • Bring loose items inside, including garbage cans, lawn furniture, decorations, hoses, hanging plants, grills
  • Turn off or disconnect electric, gas, water and sewer before evacuating

Mobile home preparation

  • Inspect, repair or add tie-down straps and anchors according to Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles standards
  • Make sure straps are properly aligned and not on an angle
  • Check to be sure the proper number of tie-downs have been installed properly
  • Verify that ground anchors and stabilizer plates have been installed properly
  • Be sure support piers are in contact with the frame
  • Replace straps or ground anchors that show signs of corrosion or damage.
  • Inspect and repair wood rot and termite damage in wall-to-floor connections, wall-to-roof connections, perimeter joists and trusses
  • Inspect fasteners if home has a roof-over
  • Close shutters
  • Secure loose outdoor objects
  • Turn off or disconnect electricity, gas, water and sewer
  • Establish a community evacuation plan for your mobile home park
  • Make a list of residents’ phone numbers, altern ate addresses
  • Assign each neighbor a partner to help them evacuate

Swimming pool preparation

  • Lower the water level to reduce flooding potential
  • Do not empty the pool, it could pop out of the ground
  • Turn off electrical power to the pool
  • Store filter pump motor indoors to keep it dry
  • Store loose items indoors, not in pool, to protect from chemicals
  • Add extra chlorine to use pool water for washing and flushing
  • Inspect and repair or replace pool screen hardware
  • Remove two opposite pool screen panels to allow wind to blow through

Yard preparation

  • Trim weak branches
  • Hire licensed trimmers to trim near power lines
  • Trim early enough before storm to allow branches to be removed from property to keep them from becoming projectiles.

 

Evacuation sign

Does anybody care that it’s hurricane season?

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The first of June marked the beginning of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, and if things go as predicted by many weather experts, it should be another very active season.

The beginning of June also saw COVID travel restrictions drop in most of the U.S. just in time for the end of the school year. These factors, along with new flights being added at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) and a general desire for many to finally take a vacation after more than a year of lockdown, have created the perfect recipe for a record-breaking summer season on the Island. 

In years past, the first day of summer unofficially signals the end of the spring snowbird and tourist season on the Island, but that certainly isn’t the case in 2021, and very few of these visitors and potential future visitors seem very concerned about hurricane season.

“We checked the weather before we got on the plane and saw a tropical storm that was likely to become a hurricane, then we noticed there is a good chance of thunderstorms every day we are going to be there,” said Kimberly Rotz, who arrived a day before Hurricane Elsa with her family from suburban Indianapolis, where temperatures had been close to 96 degrees when they got on the plane. “Not the best scenario, but neither is the record heat here at home. At least you guys have an ocean and plenty of pool space to beat the heat.”

Rotz said she and her husband did some research and saw that hurricanes tend to miss the Island historically, and they didn’t feel there was a safety issue for her family based on a close watch of Elsa’s approach.

“We called our resort and asked if the windows and doors were hurricane safe, and also asked if there had been a history of damage to the property during past storms. When the person we spoke to said the property was up to code, and no evacuation order seemed to be coming, we decided to come down and ride it out. It turned out to be pretty tame, so I’m glad we made that decision,” Rotz added. 

The Rotz family aren’t the only ones that don’t seem to be too worried about hurricane season or the summer heat. Island-related social media sites are full of posts and comments from people who are ready to start their vacations. 

“We are coming down July 24 – July 31, and we can’t wait. We’ve been coming to Holmes Beach for seven years, but this will be our first summer trip. We usually come in March or April, but COVID kept that from happening this year,” said Maria Rivera, who will be flying from Hartford, Conn. Rivera, who is originally from Puerto Rico, fell in love with the Island and its beaches after coming with friends in 2014. 

“Growing up in Puerto Rico, we were constantly in the path of hurricanes. In 1998, Hurricane Georges did billions of dollars in damage and we didn’t have electricity for weeks. I’ve lived through serious destruction, and nothing like that has ever happened on Anna Maria Island, so while it’s silly to not be cautious, it seems like the odds are in favor of the Island,” said Rivera, who added that she has no problem with the summer heat, as long as there is someplace air-conditioned to escape to.

Bradenton Beach
Despite a bit of beach erosion from heavy surf, things are back to normal on Bradenton Beach after a visit from Hurricane Elsa. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

Rivera is correct about Anna Maria Island historically being spared the worst during hurricane season. Elsa was expected to be just a few miles offshore, and with the eastern side of a hurricane usually packing the higher wind speeds and more severe rainfall, it looked like it was poised to cause flooding and a high storm surge. Other problems such as power outages and downed trees looked to be a likely scenario as well, but once again, it just didn’t happen. 

Historic hurricane misses

Most recently, Hurricane Irma hit the area in September 2017. The storm was a Category 5 before it hit Cuba, and by the time it made its way to the Island, it had significantly weakened to a Category 2. While still a serious storm that leads to a mandatory evacuation of the Island, serious damage was not nearly what it could have been. The City Pier was damaged and had to be closed for extensive renovation and power outages were widespread, but for the most part, homes and businesses didn’t suffer serious damage.

In 2004, Hurricane Charlie also caused a lot of damage to Florida cities but spared the Bradenton area and the Island with winds that didn’t top 60 mph. 2004 also saw Ivan and Frances, two massive storms that came close but did not significantly impact the Island. 

Despite the Island’s good luck, watches and warnings should always be taken seriously, because the past does not predict the future. At some point the big storm will come; according to meteorologists, it is a virtual certainty. In the meantime, watching out for everyday storm-related dangers like lightning and flooding is always good practice.