E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R’ S M E S S A G E J o h n F. K y n e s- H i l l s b o r o u g h C o u n t y B a r A s s o c i a t i o n
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And they won’ t forget the steady leadership provided by our government officials, the valuable service provided by the media to keep the public informed about the storm, and the courageous work of first responders to help keep us safe.
A strong Category 5 hurricane with winds up to 185 mph, Irma was the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As Irma churned through the Caribbean and slammed into Cuba, the video images showing the incredible winds, major flooding, and mass destruction caused by the massive storm were shocking, even for seasoned Floridians who had been through multiple hurricanes before.
Everywhere you went around town, the sense of unease was palpable.
Evacuations plans were made and sandbags were filled. Grocery store shelves were quickly emptied. Long lines formed to get plywood to board up homes. And people moved into local storm shelters.
Technological advances helped people stay better informed about the progress of the storm, but no doubt also contributed to increased stress levels.
People were constantly refreshing social media sites such as Twitter on their phones to get the latest news. Also, weather alerts and City of Tampa emergency warnings lit up people’ s mobile devices throughout the day and late into the night.
National media heavyweights, such as CNN’ s Anderson Cooper, descended upon Tampa and provided unending storm coverage from the Riverwalk.
And there was no missing the regular hurricane advisories when local TV meteorologists explained the latest U. S. and European“ spaghetti models” of the storm’ s track, as well as updated information about the storm’ s“ cone of uncertainty.”
Eventually, Irma made its anticipated“ turn north,” and it had Tampa Bay in its crosshairs.
On Sept. 10, Irma ripped through the Florida Keys and made landfall on Marco Island as a Category 3 hurricane.
Fortunately, as Irma moved up the Florida peninsula from the south, it wobbled a bit east from its projected path and spared Tampa from a direct hit.
“ We were very, very lucky last night,” Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn told the“ Today” show on Sept. 11, the day after Irma moved north past the area.
Still, Irma ravaged parts of the Florida, causing at least 42 deaths, and leaving more than six million people without power, some for weeks.
The last time Tampa Bay took a direct hit from a hurricane was in 1921 when a Category 3 storm swept through the area with winds gusting more than 100 mph.
The region’ s population at the time was about 135,000. Today, the Bay area’ s population is close to three million.
Winds from the 1921 hurricane pushed an estimated 11-foot wall of water into Tampa Bay, causing major flooding in low-lying areas and in Ybor City.
H. P. Macfarlane was serving as HCBA president in 1921, and one can only imagine how the storm impacted Tampa’ s small but tight-knit legal community.
In the aftermath of Irma, Tampa’ s and Florida’ s legal community has stepped up in a major way as“ second responders” to help those in need of legal advice.
For example, numerous Florida lawyers have volunteered to answer questions from residents who call the Florida Bar’ s Disaster Relief Hotline. The project is operated through a partnership with the Florida Bar YLD, the ABA Young Lawyers Section, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
And a number of Tampa law firms and individual lawyers have organized efforts to help meet the humanitarian needs of residents in Florida and in Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria later in September.
As a Tampa Bay Times editorial aptly stated just after Irma hit:“ Florida bent but did not come close to breaking, and we will bounce back stronger. This historic storm was a uniquely shared experience for the entire state. Floridians must remain united as they begin the weeks and months of cleaning up and rebuilding.”
See you around the Chet.
HCBA Members: Join Us at the HCBA Holiday Open House on December 7 at the Chester Ferguson Law Center. Register at hillsbar. com.
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