Photo By Jason Bortz | Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola was damaged...... read more read more
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Story by Ensign Emma Remis
After avoiding serious hurricane damage for years, Pensacola was hit hard in 2020 by Hurricane Sally.
The slow-moving Category 2 storm proved more dangerous than originally expected, damaging personal property and base facilities. With many families and businesses still recovering from the damage, the area learned many lessons about hurricane preparation the hard way.
For many service members at NAS Pensacola, this was their first experience with severe weather. Ensign Taylor Quinn, a student Naval Flight Officer at Naval Aviation Schools Command, encountered property damage and power outages just weeks after moving to Pensacola.
“I wish I had filled up my gas tank and gone grocery shopping earlier,” said Quinn. I didn’t expect the lines to be as crazy as they were, that was the most shocking part.”
Despite the struggles she faced with Hurricane Sally, Ensign Quinn now feels confident about her ability to plan and prepare for whatever severe weather this year might bring.
According to Thomas Butler, Base Emergency Operations Center (EOC) manager, preparedness is about taking extra precautions to take care of your family. It’s less about making expensive bulk purchases and more about staying informed of severe weather while continuously checking and stocking certain emergency provisions. As Butler says, it’s a yearlong process. Waiting until the last minute could lead to long lines and sold out products. The goal is to have three to seven days’ worth of supplies at all times, including water, food, batteries, lighting kits and first aid kits that include prescription medication.
“If there’s a storm, people are so occupied with getting the house safe, getting the family ready, and trying to evacuate that they forget things,” Butler said.
This underscores the importance of advanced preparation, especially something that’s consolidated in one place and easy to take in a hurry, reducing the chances of forgetting anything important.
Something many people don’t think about is that falling trees create a lot of other damage, knocking down phone and power lines, Butler said. Last year, most of Pensacola lost power and cell service for almost a week, with many families unprepared. To be better equipped should this situation happen again, Butler recommends paper copy maps and road atlases, at least a half-full gas tank and small denominations of cash on hand.
Butler also stressed the importance of updating your address and contact information in the Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS). This website standardizes accountability and allows commands to monitor families who have evacuated due to extreme conditions, a key component to ensure the safety of service members in dangerous times.
One of the many resources that NAS Pensacola offers to ensure service members and their families are prepared with regards to hurricane season is the Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC). FFSC can be reached by phone at (850) 452-5990.
“We have counselors, information referrals, and additional resources to help with members who need assistance financially,” says James Edmond, emergency manager, Fleet and Family Support Center.
Other great resources include your county’s emergency management office, the Ready campaign (www.ready.gov), the National Weather Service (www.weather.gov), the National Hurricane Center (www.nhc.noaa.gov), and the NAS Pensacola Facebook and Twitter pages that are used to pass important information regarding storms.
As Hurricane Preparedness Week comes to a close, it is the perfect time for service members and their families to finalize storm preparations before hurricane season officially starts on June 1. With areas of Pensacola still reeling from last year’s hurricane, NAS Pensacola’s emergency management team cannot stress enough the importance of a strong plan and thoughtful preparation for the entirety of the year.
As Edmond says, “if you stay prepared, you don’t have to get prepared.”
| Date Taken: | 05.13.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.13.2021 16:29 |
| Story ID: | 396345 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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