Tampa Bay upgrades hurricane defenses after deadly season
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Flood waters inundate Tarpon Springs after Hurricane Helene passed offshore. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
After a century of minor hurricane impacts on Tampa Bay, last year's punishing storm season was both a wake-up call and a learning experience.
Why it matters: In the months since, local government leaders have been analyzing and adjusting their approaches to preparing for, weathering and recovering from hurricanes.
- Here's what they told Axios about lessons learned.
Infrastructure
Zoom in: Helene and Miltion overwhelmed Tampa Bay's drainage systems. Local officials tell Axios they've been working to get ahead of the next storm: adding pumps, installing flood mitigation devices and clearing pipes.
- Hillsborough County cleaned 57 miles of pipes, upgraded its equipment, as well as completed inspections and maintenance at all lift stations, which pump sewage from homes into the county's system.
- Officials also set up agreements with the state to fast-track emergency requests for additional equipment and installed diesel-powered pumps at "critical" lift stations to keep sewage moving during power outages.
- Tampa is also upgrading dozens of its lift stations to better withstand extreme weather, including installing more backup generators.
In St. Petersburg, where some residents couldn't use the bathroom during Helene and Milton due to two vulnerable sewage plants, Mayor Ken Welch moved to accelerate more than $700 million in infrastructure improvements through the St. Pete Agile Resilience (SPAR) plan.
- "We're working based on science, based on projections, but those projections unfortunately show that the climate change impact is more on the extreme level than we'd hoped," Welch told Axios. "So we adjusted our plans."
- Several projects, including flood-proofing sewer plants, are already in the works.
Yes, but: The question remains how to fund the expedited plan, Welch said.
- Officials are considering taking on debt and paying it back via revenue from an additional property tax. Such a plan would have to be approved by residents through a referendum.
Evacuations and sheltering
Just 1,700 Pinellas residents flocked to shelters during Helene. For some, staying home had fatal consequences. A dozen residents died, most from drowning.
- County officials are working with Capacity Path, a disaster relief agency specializing in mental health care, on ways to persuade reluctant residents to evacuate, emergency management director Cathie Perkins told Axios.
- The county is also continuing partnerships with the state Department of Elder Affairs and Evara Health to better accommodate special-needs residents in shelters and help them find housing after they get out.
- Officials are looking for more of what Perkins called "step-down" shelters for residents who can't immediately return to their homes.
Plus: Hillsborough launched electronic registration to track available space at its shelters. Officials have also improved coordination with the school district.
Communication
In one of the most harrowing storm impacts of last year, a construction crane toppled by Milton's high winds slammed into a downtown St. Pete office building.
- Lawmakers barred local governments from regulating cranes more than a decade ago, so St. Pete officials are creating an interactive map that shows residents how close they live to potentially dangerous cranes and will send alerts ahead of storms, Welch said.
- Legislation that requires construction companies to secure cranes no later than 24 hours before a storm is awaiting the governor's signature.
Boaters are another group that needs more targeted communication, Perkins said.
- Tons of unsecured boats washed up after Helene, and some residents are turning to boats for affordable housing.
- Pinellas is partnering with the National Boater Safety Council to make a video explaining how to secure your boat ahead of a storm, Perkins said.
Plus: Pinellas this year held its first Spanish-language hurricane expo, while Hillsborough added Spanish translations to signs in shelters.
Recovery
The Helene-Milton double whammy produced a historic amount of debris.
- Officials are lining up contracts with debris haulers and trimming or removing trees ahead of this year's potential storms.
- St. Pete is also on the hunt for places to put debris because the three sites used last year are no longer available, said Welch, who added that last year's debris cleanup was "one of the great successes."
- He warned that the city may have to turn to parks if no other land is available.
Plus: Pinellas is overhauling its permitting process, while Hillsborough plans to use new technology to better track and submit damage assessments.