Florida SART: Florida State Agricultural Response Team

Corner Store Conversations

Contributed by Elizabeth Wang, associate editor

It has been quite busy for SART since the last newsletter! As many of you know, Hurricane Dennis recently made landfall in a similar path of 2004's Hurricane Ivan. Dr. Greg Christy and Mr. David Perry provide more details on the SART response to Dennis in the article below, "Florida SART Responds to Hurricane Dennis."

In addition to the usual array of disaster articles, in this issue of the SART Sentinel we begin a new bimonthly feature, SART Training Media Spotlight.

So read on and enjoy! (And if you're so inclined, let us know how we're doing at <SARTNewsEditor-L@lists.ifas.ufl.edu>.)

Florida SART Responds to Hurricane Dennis

Hurricane Dennis Threatens Florida

On Thursday, July 7, Hurricane Dennis appeared to be heading on a track that could impact the lower Keys and possibly the panhandle of Florida. At 1 p.m., the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) went from a Level 3 (monitoring) to a Level 2 (partial) activation, and an initial briefing by the State Emergency Coordinating Officer, Mr. Craig Fugate, was set for 6 p.m. for all Emergency Support Function (ESF) representatives.

SART member, Dr. Sam Lamb, was designated as ESF-17 Coordinator for the SEOC, and SART member, Mr. David Perry, the field Incident Commander for the ESF-17 Response Team. SART agencies were contacted for agency liaisons to staff the ESF-17 Incident Command Post. SART agencies who sent liaisons included the University of Florida/ IFAS, USDA/Veterinary Services, USDA/Farm Service Agency, Florida Animal Control Association (FACA), Humane Society of the United State (Southeast Regional Office) and United Animal Nations Emergency Animal Rescue Service (UAN/EARS).

State EOC Goes to Full Activation

On Friday, July 8, the SEOC went from a Level 2 to Level 1 (full) 24-hour activation. Hurricane Dennis had become a category 3 hurricane and was headed for the southern coast of Cuba. Governor Bush issued an executive order declaring an emergency. Mandatory evacuations started in the lower Keys and the panhandle of Florida.

On Sunday afternoon, July 10, Hurricane Dennis made landfall as a category 3 hurricane in Santa Rosa County, in the Florida panhandle, and by midnight was out of Florida and downgraded to a tropical storm.

On Monday morning, July 11, our ESF-17 Response Team assembled their Incident Command Post in Defuniak Springs at the IFAS Extension Office. By that evening, our ESF-17 Response Team had placed a team of 38 personnel on site, had made contacts with all impacted county ESF-17 Coordinators, and had made assignments for early deployment for damage assessment and response teams on Tuesday morning.

Damage Assessment and Response

Eleven damage assessment and response teams made 141 facility/site visits on Tuesday, July 12, and 135 visits on Wednesday, July 13. Animal losses were minimal, and included five head of cattle left in a barn, which collapsed during the storm. Damages to farm buildings ranged from minimal to severe, and one peanut processing plant was severely impacted. Feed stores were able to meet needs locally in all areas. Crop damage was assessed with moderate losses for corn and fresh vegetable crops. Cotton crops also suffered losses in the vicinity of the hurricane path through Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

Within 72 hours post-impact, all needs that were requested by county ESF-17 coordinators were met, and damage assessments were completed. Demobilization of the ESF-17 Response Team was initiated on Wednesday, July 13, and completed on the following day.

Florida SART successfully supported the State Emergency Operation Center efforts. The Hurricane Dennis ESF-17 Response Team worked effectively within the Incident Command System structure with numerous SART agency participants. All in all, a good SART team effort.

-- Greg Christy and David Perry

 

Natural Hazards Observer

The Natural Hazards Observer is the bimonthly periodical of the Natural Hazards Center. It covers current disaster issues; new international, national, and local disaster management, mitigation, and education programs; hazards research; political and policy developments; new information sources and web sites; upcoming conferences; and recent publications. Distributed to over 15,000 subscribers in the U.S. and abroad via printed copies and our web site, the Observer focuses on news regarding human adaptation and response to natural hazards and other catastrophic events and provides a forum for concerned individuals to express opinions and generate new ideas through invited personal articles.

The Observer is FREE within the U.S. International subscriptions cost $24 per year.
Click here to <Subscribe> or <Search> current and back issues.

--From the Natural Hazards Center Web site <http://www.colorado.edu/hazards>.

 

SART Promotes New Climate Web Site

Florida SART has taken on a new mission-helping spread the word about a new climate forecasting system for agriculture.

The forecasting system was developed by the Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC), a partnership that includes six universities in Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

The USDA's Risk Management Agency asked the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to have SART help promote SECC and its Web site, <http://agclimate.org>, said Greg Christy, state ESF-17 coordinator.

"Droughts, wildfires and other weather events can wreak havoc on agriculture," Christy said. "Getting climate forecasts in the hands of farmers early can help act early and improve their bottom line."

The AgClimate Web site provides seasonal forecasts of rainfall and temperature for all counties in Alabama, Florida and Georgia.

It also allows farmers in some counties to get personalized predictions of the probability that their yields for peanuts, potatoes and tomatoes will be good, average or poor. Users can tailor their crop yield forecasts based on the soil type of their land, whether or not they irrigate and their average yield in the past.

The Web site's highly specific forecasts are important because what a producer is experiencing frequently is quite different than what's happening in neighboring counties, said John Bellow, an SECC extension specialist at Florida State University.

"We hope that more growers will use AgClimate when they plan their planting and harvesting and prepare for freezes," said Clyde Fraisse, an extension specialist and SECC researcher at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

"Growers also can use it to link to other information about climate, crop management and crop insurance."

Safer Chain Saw Operation During Disaster Preparation and Recovery

During disaster preparedness and recovery efforts, chain saw use becomes almost commonplace. A few simple practices can be followed to operate the chain saw properly and prevent injuries from occurring. Proper personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn while using a chain saw. Frequent breaks should be taken to prevent overexertion. Additional facts and tips can be found on the following links:

Chain Saw Safety (one of several informative articles that can be found on the National Ag Safety Database using the search term 'chain saw'):
<http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000801-d000900/d000881/d000881.html>

EDIS Document AE312 How to Operate Chains Saws Safely: <http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE186>

Snowbirds and Senior Living Developments - A New Quick Response Report from the Natural Hazards Center

QR177 Snowbirds and Senior Living Developments: An Analysis of Vulnerability Associated with Hurricane Charley by Burrell E. Montz and Graham A. Tobin. 2005. <Link>

These researchers studied senior living developments in Florida affected by Hurricane Charley to see how "snowbird" (seasonal resident) populations and manufactured housing affected vulnerability and recovery. Preliminary results indicate that permanency of residence, age of the population, and structural characteristics do have an effect on resilience and recovery and that these socioeconomic factors are as important as geophysical factors when assessing vulnerability.

--From Disaster Research, 429, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, Boulder

NASA Launches Hurricane Research Web Page

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently launched a Web highlighting their work on hurricanes. Research results, latest news and other useful hurricane media are just a few items on the site. There is a multimedia gallery, a section detailing the spacecraft and instruments used and even streaming videos. The site can be accessed at <http://www.nasa.gov/hurricane>.

One particularly interesting video, Birth of a Hurricane, chronicles the birth and death of Hurricane Isabel. It is just over 2 minutes long and can be accessed directly at the following link <http://espi.gsfc.nasa.gov/mediaviewer/birth_hurr/>.

 

Looking for a Different Disaster Photograph?

Did you know that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) maintains its own photo library in the public domain? There are more than 9000 images contained in the library of various disasters and were taken by FEMA photographers. Majority of the photographs may be reproduced for educational and informational purposes without permission from FEMA. See if they have what you are looking for! The collection may be accessed and searched at <http://www.photolibrary.fema.gov/photolibrary/index.jsp>.

The Photo Use Guidelines can be accessed from that page or directly from <http://www.fema.gov/help/usage.shtm>.

Horse Trailer Maintenance and Trailering Safety

Whether transporting your horse for pleasure or for evacuation purposes, the following sites can provide reminders for the proper maintenance of the horse trailer. Don't wait until the last minute and assume that everything is 'good to go' - especially if the trailer has not been used for a while. Also make sure to look it over to insure that no insects (wasps, for example); rodents; or snakes have decided to make a home in the trailer or in the area under or around it. A publication, Horse Trailer Maintenance and Trailering Safety, by Rutgers Cooperative Extension can be found on the National Ag Safety Database at: <http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000801-d000900/d000842/d000842.html>.

A fact sheet, Common Sense Trailer Safety, that covers additional information about the selection of the towing vehicle, etc., by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
is at: <http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/livestock/horses/facts/safety.htm>.

If traveling with your horse(s) for several days the following site includes a list of horse-friendly stop-over locations: <http://www.tripswithhorses.com/moving_tips_for_horses.shtml>.

--From Safety News & Notes, June 2005, Florida AgSafe, University of Florida, Gainesville

SART Training Media Spotlight -- Introducing SART

What is the State Agricultural Response Team? And how was it formed? All your questions and more can be answered in this training unit, one in a series of official training media being developed for SART by a University of Florida IFAS technical writing team led by Dr. Carol Lehtola.

Florida's animal and agriculture industries have an annual impact of $62-billion, second only to tourism. To help prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters affecting these industries, SART was formed. Multiple state, federal and civic agencies have agreed to participate in SART and its activities.

A lesson plan, participant workbook and slide presentation are available for this training unit. Introducing SART is appropriate for a wide range of audiences and can be utilized in establishing county SARTs, recruiting agencies and members and in promoting the state and county SART organizations to the public. These documents are available to view and download from the Florida SART home page at <http://www.flsart.org>. Click on "Training Materials."

The SART SENTINEL

Editor: Gregory S. Christy, DVM, State ESF-17 Coordinator, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry

Associate editor: Elizabeth A. Wang, UF/IFAS, University of Florida

Contributors

• Chris Eversole, Univ. of Florida-Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS)
• Carol J. Lehtola, Univ. of Florida-Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS)
• David Perry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)

The SART SENTINEL is an e-mail newsletter prepared monthly by Dr. Gregory S. Christy and the staff of the Florida State Agricultural Response Team. Past issues of the Sentinel are archived on the Florida SART Web Site: <www.flsart.org>.

Disaster Links

For additional information on agriculture, animals, and disaster, visit:

Florida SART Home Page: <www.flsart.org>
UF/IFAS Disaster Handbook: <http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu/>
Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN): <http://eden.lsu.edu/>

For a complete list of all SART participating agencies, visit the Florida SART Web site: <www.flsart.org>.

 Tip of the Month!

Calling all generators! Take those generators out of their boxes and conduct a full inspection of the hoses, electrical lines and parts; make sure there are no obstructions or failing parts.

Start it up, too. If it does not start, then make arrangements to have it repaired. It's better to find problems now before you need it!

For more tips on safe generator use, see <http://www.redcross.org/static/file_cont3250_lang0_1272.pdf> and <http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/portgen.pdf>.