Hurricane Irene to blow past Longboat

The town prepared for the wrath of Hurricane Irene by checking power generators, ordering fuel and instructing employees to implement a personal hurricane plan in case they would be needed for emergency duties.

“We’re taking Irene very seriously,” said Juan Florensa, director of Longboat Key Public Works, Monday, Aug. 22. “Its projected path could brush through Florida.”

Florensa said that the town was treating Irene as the first major storm of the season.

Fortunately, by Tuesday, Aug. 23, Irene’s path had shifted away from Florida.

“I hope that it misses the entire East Coast altogether,” Town Manager Bruce St. Denis said.

St. Denis said that the town began storm preparations on one other occasion this year and had begun winding down hurricane proceedings by Tuesday.

“We started the process of getting everything ready,” he said. “Once we have 72 hours, there’s a series of steps that each department takes.”

Although Irene never appeared to be on track to hit Longboat Key, the island, along with most of the state, was originally included in the National Hurricane Center (NHC) cone, which projects the potential one- to three-day track area. The town begins making emergency preparations more than 72 hours before a storm.

According to the town’s hurricane preparation plan, at pre-72 hours, staff makes a variety of preparations, including fueling up equipment, ordering fuel-storage tanks to be topped off, establishing contact with debris-removal contractors, preparing critical records for transport and instructing employees to implement a personal plan so that they can be prepared for their emergency duties.

Both Florensa and St. Denis said that the town learned from Hurricane Charley, which struck the Port Charlotte area in August 2004.

According to Florensa, the storm was originally headed toward Longboat Key but changed path at the last minute — which shows the need for advance preparation.

St. Denis said that town staff traveled to the impacted area after Charley immediately after the storm and later returned to assess the situation. Most major changes to the town’s hurricane plan occurred in 2004 and 2005, although the town continues to tweak its plan. For example, in the event of a Category 5 storm, all landmarks could be wiped out, meaning that officials wouldn’t have a way of knowing where structures were located. As a result, over the past year, the town has given landmarks GPS coordinates.

Although Irene will bypass Longboat Key, the island might not have seen the last threat of a hurricane.

Although hurricane season begins June 1, it doesn’t end until November — and September is often the most active month.