2,800 National Guard Soldiers Stand Ready to Rescue

NC National Guard has ‘historic’ response to Hurricane Florence
Fayetteville Observer
Drew Brooks
September 14, 2018

North Carolina National Guard troops are working alongside first responders as Hurricane Florence makes its way inland.

Officials said they know the worst is yet to come as the state prepares for more flooding and high winds.

Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division prepare themselves and their equipment for the potential impacts of Hurricane Florence at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Ga September 13. In addition to the Army's preparation happening on bases, Hunter Army Airfield has become a staging point for U.S. Coast Guard helicopters who mat be called on to assist in hurricane response efforts.

“We still have just over 2,800 National Guardsmen on state active duty,” said Lt. Col. Matt DeVivo, a spokesman for the NCNG.

That is the most troops ever activated ahead of a major storm.

“We’ve never had this many already ready to respond,” DeVivo said.
read more here

TBI-PTSD Army Veteran Needs Help Going Back Home

Wounded Veteran’s Home Still Unlivable Since 2015 Floods

ABC News Columbia
Angela Rogers
September 26, 2017

According to Richland County, the property management firm hired non-licensed contractors, so the $91,000 Santana spent on fixing flooring, walls, electrical, and heating and cooling all goes to waste, since the work was done without permits, not up to FEMA code, and violated regulations.

Columbia, SC (WOLO)– Since the historic flooding of 2015, a now-retired wounded Army veteran is having to fight a different type of battle, one he never expected.

“Being a wounded warrior, with TBI, essential tremor, and PTSD, it’s very emotionally draining because I can’t, no matter what my wife and I do, we just cannot find resolution, and it’s been two years. And we want to move on but we can’t.” Maj. Miguel Santana 

Santana served his country for 26 years. He did a tour in Afghanistan, and two tours in Iraq. When he was deployed his family lived in Germany and he entrusted a property manager to take care of his home in the Midlands, especially when the devastating floods of 2015 hit.

“I could not physically be here. I trusted this property manager, that we had a signed contract, and I trusted the contractors to do what they said they were going to do. And everything was being supervised and managed by the property management company and they failed us,” Santana said.
read more here

Thank You Florida National Guard!

When you read this report and watch the videos, remember, they left their own families to take care of the rest of us! "Thank you" is just not enough to say! 

National Guard provides support across Florida

News 4 Jax

Kent Justice
September 15, 2017

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. - The men and women serving at Florida National Guard headquarters are thousands of the state’s neighbors, co-workers and fellow citizens.

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, this group is providing support across Florida. The Guard’s emergency operations headquarters is at Camp Blanding in Clay County.

“Our main job here is to help the citizens of (the) state,” Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Watson said. “I mean, I'm a citizen of the state of Florida. So all we're doing is helping our brothers and sisters inside the state.”

Watson lives in St. Augustine. One of his commanding officers is from St. Johns County. His colleagues hail from across the Sunshine State.
read more here

Florida National Guard distributing food and water in Fort Myers

Florida National Guard distributing food and water in Fort Myers after Hurricane Irma. Food and water distribution centers are scattered across Southwest Florida to help those in need after Hurricane Irma left the majority of the population without power and displaced.

UCF Hosts Florida National Guard After Hurricane Irma

UCF has answered the call of Gov. Rick Scott to host the National Guard on campus as it uses the football facilities, including Spectrum Stadium, to stage its recovery operations efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Evacuation orders for Central Florida counties

WESH 2 News
Check here for updates

BREVARD COUNTY:

Brevard County officials have announced a mandatory evacuation order for residents living in Merritt Island and some mainland low-lying areas along the Indian River Lagoon.

The order for people living in Evacuation Zone A begins at 3 p.m. Friday.

In addition, people who live in mobile or manufactured homes or in other flood-prone areas are also vulnerable and should evacuate, whether on the mainland or the barrier islands, county officials said.

Residents who do not plan to stay in public shelters are encouraged to stay with family or friends on the mainland, and to evacuate tens of miles rather than hundreds of miles, as traffic on highways and interstates is likely to be heavier.

FLAGLER COUNTY:

Flagler County has issued a mandatory evacuation order effective at 7 a.m. Saturday for the following areas:

Evacuation Zone A includes everything east of the Intracoastal including Marineland, Hammock, Flagler Beach along A1A.

Evacuation Zone F is in western Flagler County and includes areas near Dead Lake - St. Johns Park and the Haw Creek Basin - as the St. Johns River, which feeds Dead Lake.

Low-lying areas subject to flooding, as well as for those who live in mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and trailers.

Individuals with special medical needs, due to the potential loss of power.

There is a mandatory evacuation for nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Flagler County zones A,B,C and F.

Flagler County announced a voluntary evacuation for residents and said evacuation zones A, B, C and F (not Palm Coast alphabet sections) should consider leaving the area ahead of Hurricane Irma.

The county has also expanded their voluntary evacuation to include residents who live in a mobile home, a recreational vehicle, a trailer or an unsafe structure that is not rated to withstand strong winds.

Evacuation Zone A : Everything east of the Intracoastal including Marineland, Hammock, Flagler Beach along A1A.

Evacuation Zone B: neighborhoods along Colbert Lane to the south, all of the C section and the F section east of Florida Park Drive and the F section east of Palm Harbor Parkway. This zone also includes the area east of Old Kings Road, south of State Road 100 including Bulow and its adjacent neighborhood, Grand Haven and western Flagler Beach.

Evacuation Zone C: Woodlands area of Palm Coast

Evacuation Zone F: Areas near Dead Lake, St. Johns Park and the Haw Creek basin, as the St. Johns River, which feeds Dead Lake is tidal.

The Flagler Beach Police Department is asking residents to stop by for a placard that can help with post storm recovery if residents plan to evacuate.

SEMINOLE COUNTY:

No voluntary or mandatory evacuation notice has been posted by Seminole County at this time.

ORANGE COUNTY:

Orange County mayor Teresa Jacobs issued a mandatory evacuation notice to all residents living in mobile homes in Orange County.

Officials are encouraging residents to stay with family or make their way to shelters which will open at 9 a.m. Saturday.

MARION COUNTY:

Marion County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents living in mobile homes and modular-type homes.

Residents are urged to evacuate those homes by 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept 9.

Evacuees are encouraged to first seek shelter with family or friends living in a site-built home. If that option is not available, you can check the list of shelters by clicking here.

VOLUSIA COUNTY:
Volusia County is asking residents on the beachside, in low-lying areas, and in RVs, mobile or manufactured homes are asked at this time to evacuate voluntarily. If you are uncomfortable in your home, you also are encouraged to evacuate.

Florida Hospital
Florida Hospital Oceanside is an 80-bed facility located beachside in Ormond Beach on A1A. This facility will evacuate 31 patients to Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach on Friday, September 8. The emergency department at this facility is also expected to close, however the exact time has not yet been determined.

• Florida Hospital New Smyrna is a 112-bed facility located in New Smyrna Beach, a few short blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway. This facility will evacuate approximately 50 patients to Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand and Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City on Friday, September 8. The entire hospital will be closed and the emergency department at this facility will be closed to patients as of noon on Saturday, September 9.

• The ERs will be open and available for patients in emergency medical situations at:

◦ Florida Hospital DeLand in DeLand
◦ Florida Hospital Fish Memorial in Orange City
◦ Florida Hospital Flagler is Palm Coast
◦ Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center in Daytona Beach

• All procedures, diagnostic testing and outpatient appointments scheduled for Monday, September 11 are cancelled and will need to be rescheduled for future dates.

• All freestanding Florida Hospital outpatient facilities and employed physician offices will be closed on Monday, September 11. Depending on the storm's track and localized impact, these facilities and offices plan to assess any damages on Tuesday, September 12 to evaluate reopening.

OSCEOLA COUNTY:

Residents in low-lying areas or in modular and mobile homes are officially advised to evacuate to safer accommodations, including shelters or staying with family or friends.

LAKE COUNTY:

Lake County has issued a voluntary evacuation order in Astor and Lake George.

Officials are asking the residents of those areas to safely self-evacuate by Saturday afternoon. Lake County has 13 emergency shelters that will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Sept 9.

The closest emergency shelters to Astor are Spring Creek Elementary, 44440 Spring Creek Road, Paisley and Umatilla Elementary, 40

1 Lake St., Umatilla. Both shelters are pet-friendly and Umatilla can also accommodate special needs persons.

More shelters 

You have to admit that Gov. Scott has done a fabulous job keeping all of us up to date on what is going on. He's on TV several times a day giving updates!

September 10th, 2017
Gov. Rick Scott: I’m not sparing any resources during Hurricane Irma
Florida Gov. Rick Scott tells TODAY that he’s extremely worried about the storm surges hitting Florida from Hurricane Irma. “It’s hard to believe anybody will survive it,” he says. Scott says he’s not sparing any resources to protect people from the storm.

Floridians Forget Calm Before Storm--Get Busy Now!

If you live on the West Coast of Florida, get out!

Tracking Irma City by City

weather.com
Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari looks a the specific cities in Florida where Irma will have the worst impacts. 

The Worst-Case Hurricane Irma Scenarios For Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville
Tampa Bay

The center of Hurricane Irma's forecast path, the most likely forecast track, now introduces the chance of the eyewall of Irma raking across part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg metro area.

Fortunately, it looks like Irma won't be the worst-case scenario for storm surge that area residents fear.

For that to happen, the center would have to track in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, then make landfall north of Pinellas County. This would not only bring destructive eyewall winds to much of the metro area, but would also drive a catastrophic storm surge into Tampa Bay.

The so-called Tarpon Springs Hurricane made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in October 1921. According to an NWS model simulation, this hurricane likely drove a 9 to 11-foot surge into Hillsborough Bay, including downtown Tampa, as well as Old Tampa Bay.

At the time, it was the most destructive hurricane in the region since an 1848.

Hurricane Irma now Category 4, shifts west creating 'very dangerous situation' for SW Florida
ABC News
By MORGAN WINSOR JULIA JACOBO DAVID CAPLAN
Sep 9, 2017

Just hours after Hurricane Irma strengthened Friday night to a Category 5 storm as it made landfall on Cuba, the monster storm went back to a Category 4 storm around 5 a.m. Saturday, the National Hurricane Center announced.

Its maximum sustained winds decreased to 155 mph, but the storm remains strong as it moves closer to South Florida at a speed of 12 mph. As of 5 a.m., it was 245 miles southeast of Miami. Just three hours earlier, it was 275 miles south-southeast of the city.

The storm's track has shifted slightly to the west, creating a "very, very dangerous situation for western Florida," says ABC News meteorologist Daniel Manzo. Major hurricane conditions will slam communities on Florida's west coast, including Naples and Fort Myers, he added. Landfall may also occur as far north as Tampa as a strong Category 3 hurricane.
read more here

If you live in a mobile home, get out!

Hurricane Irma: Thousands living in S. Florida mobile homes face greater threat

Rodrigo Felipe's home is an old trailer he shares with five others in Immokalee, directly in Hurricane Irma's predicted path up the middle of Florida.

He wants to get out of the storm's way, but he doesn’t have a car or money to evacuate. Like tens of thousands of residents in Irma's way who live in mobile homes that likely can't withstand the storm's force, Felipe sought shelter elsewhere.

Many of Florida's mobile home residents are immigrants, including those who are undocumented. Felipe, a farmworker from Guatemala, worries that he and others who are undocumented won't have a place to go.

“I don’t know where we are going because we don’t have documents,” he said. 

If you can't get out, get busy now!

For mobile homes, get out of them and get to a friend's house or shelter. 

Get a backpack for everyone ready. 

Find a ladder to get to your roof.

Make a check list of what you have to have.

Print a list of shelters with how to get there and put it in a plastic bag. You can't read it if it gets wet. You may not have cell service, so you need to do some things the old fashion way.

Charge cell phones!

*IDs, birth certificates, policy numbers or at least put phone numbers into your cell phone for everyone you have to notify besides family and friends.

**banks **pharmacy **insurance company 

*Medicine, put them in plastic bags to protect them.
*Cell phone chargers for when you get to a power supply. Put them in a plastic bag. Keep in mind that not all chargers will fit yours.
*Water bottles, pre-freeze a few before you pack them and have to head to the roof. 
*Get pool floats blown up and attach a rope in case someone falls off. They can also help if you have dogs that can't get to the roof.
*Find anything that will float and know where it is.

Pick an area of your home to hide in like an interior closet. Put flashlights, water and battery operated radio along anything you can put against a door like a mattress.

Here is an official list

Basic Disaster Supplies Kit

To assemble your kit, store items in airtight plastic bags and put your entire disaster supplies kit in one or two easy-to-carry containers such as plastic bins or a duffel bag.

A basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

• Water - one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food - at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert
• Flashlight
• First aid kit
• Extra batteries
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Manual can opener for food
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery

Texas Physician Volunteers Sleep on Clinic Floors to Care for Harvey Survivors

Mosquitoes, Medicine and Mold: Texas Battles Post-Harvey Health Issues
NBC News
by MAGGIE FOX
September 9, 2017

Zika mosquito 'heaven'

So far, there's no big epidemic to cope with. The Harris County Health Department had to squelch rumors that plague was being spread by flood waters. Plague is carried by fleas, not in water.

Dr. Luke LeBas works on a patient at Code 3 ER and Urgent Care in Rockport, Texas. For-profit and free clinics alike across southeast Texas are struggling to cope with a deluge of patients after Harvey's floods devastated communities. Danado Saltarelli, RN / Courtesy Dr. Luke LeBas

Dr. Carrie de Moor has a nasty cough, and she’s not sure if it's allergies or one of the common respiratory infections that have been spreading since Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas late last month.

She's been sleeping in a trailer adjacent to her free-standing emergency room and urgent care clinic in Rockport, Texas, which was devastated by Harvey’s winds and flood waters. The clinic had only been open for two weeks when Harvey hit. De Moor is home in Dallas now for a few days with her children but will soon head back to the clinic, which is overwhelmed by people crowding in for stitches, tetanus shots, ear infections and skin rashes.

"We were seeing numbers outpacing anything we were prepared to take care of," said de Moor, an ER physician who is CEO of Code 3 ER and Urgent Care.

Physician volunteers have been cramming into the trailer and sleeping on the clinic floors as they tend to as many as 90 patients a day.
read more here

Houston VA Employees Wouldn't Let Flood Keep Them Away

‘They can count on us’: Houston VA hospital withstands Harvey, prepares for aftermath

STARS AND STRIPES
By NIKKI WENTLING
Published: August 31, 2017

WASHINGTON — When Hurricane Harvey lashed southeast Texas on Friday and brought punishing rain and devastating floods for days afterward, the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in downtown Houston remained open, operated by about 700 staff members who made the facility their temporary home.

Hospital staff members were sleeping on floors or small cots in their offices or in a small auditorium, Dr. SreyRam Kuy, the associate chief of staff at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, described Wednesday in a post on the VA’s website. Some of them weren’t certain if their homes were flooded, while others saw news footage of their neighborhoods under water.

They stayed to care for about 400 veterans who remained at the hospital, which is also serving as a shelter for homeless veterans and others.

One former U.S. Army Ranger swam through flood waters to reach the hospital Tuesday, where he was treated for a burst appendix, The Associated Press reported.

read more here

If you are shocked by VA employees doing something like this, then you don't know many of them! 

Oh baby there ain't no mountain high enough

Ain't no valley low enough

Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from getting to you babe

Remember the day I set you free

I told you you could always count on me darling

From that day on, I made a vow

I'll be there when you want me

Some way, some how

Oh baby there ain't no mountain high enough

Ain't no valley low enough

Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from getting to you babe

Oh no darling

No wind, no rain

Or winters cold can stop me baby, na na baby

'Cause you are my goal

If you're ever in trouble

I'll be there on the double

Just send for me, oh baby, ha

My love is alive

Way down in my heart

Although we are miles apart

If you ever need a helping hand

I'll be there on the double

Just as fast as I can

Don't you know that there

Health Effects Of 2008 Floods On Iowa Students

Health Effects Of 2008 Floods On Iowa Students
Submitted by ruzik_tuzik on Jun 17th, 2009
Posted under: General Health Articles
The historic floods of 2008 hit the University of Iowa campus hard, closing buildings, halting classes and displacing numerous programs and departments. Because natural disasters can have significant health effects on affected populations, researchers from the UI Injury Prevention Research Center distributed a university-wide survey to better understand students' flood experiences and the impact on health.

The survey also asked about the health impacts of the flood. Although few students (3 percent) reported physical injury during the flood, the toll on mental health was greater. The researchers found that 7 percent of the respondents had symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The most commonly reported PTSD symptom was feeling emotionally upset, which was experienced half the time or almost always by nearly 12 percent of students. About 7 percent of students indicated increased drug and/or alcohol use after the flood.

"College-aged youth are particularly vulnerable to the mental health effects of a disaster such as a flood since the majority are living independently for the first time without direct parental guidance and support," Ramirez said.

In addition, the researchers found students whose job was disrupted, who were evacuated, or whose home was damaged were four to six times more likely to experience symptoms of PTSD than students who were not affected by any of these factors.

go here for more

http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/24/31780/health-effects-2008-floods-iowa-students.html

North Dakota National Guardsmen Welcome Sight In Fargo

Guardsmen a welcome sight in ND flood fight

By Patrick Condon - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 4, 2009 15:57:09 EDT

FARGO, N.D. — Staff Sgt. Matthew Mitzel has patrolled the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq, and now he’s patrolled the Red River in Fargo.

“I’ll take Fargo any day,” said Mitzel, a North Dakota National Guard member and veteran of two tours in Iraq now leading a quick-response rescue team in flood-soaked Fargo.

“It’s the first time in my career I’m not fighting with Iraqi terrorists. I can just help North Dakotans fight Mother Nature. I’m fighting side by side with the people I’m protecting.”

National Guard soldiers were a huge presence in Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., after the Red River rose to a threatening level against the miles of protective dikes. As the water receded, the Minnesota Guard ended its mission around Moorhead on Friday, but the North Dakota Guard kept about 1,200 soldiers on its side of the river.
go here for more
Guardsmen a welcome sight in ND flood fight

Military sends help as uncertainty floods Fargo

Military sends help as uncertainty floods Fargo
U.S. military forces and 15 helicopters were ordered Friday night to Fargo, North Dakota, to assist the state as it prepares for possible historic flooding, a U.S. military official told CNN. The swollen Red River broke a 112-year-old flood record earlier, and Fargo was winding down a massive sandbagging effort. "If we're going to go down, we're going to go down swinging," the mayor said. full story

Is New Orleans in danger of flooding again with Fay?

Tropical Storm Fay came with so much rain that it was being measured by feet instead of inches. Today, it's still raining in Central Florida, just outside of Orlando. We lost count how many times we drained the pool because it was flooding onto the deck and between the wind and rain, we just had to replace our garage door. We were lucky here but on the coast, streets are flooded and so are homes. They had alligators, snakes and fish swimming down streets. Over 50 homes were damaged by tornadoes spawned off Fay. Two women drowned at beaches, a worker died from electrocution, a man died from fumes of a generator and there were several other deaths. This thing is a monster! It made landfall 4 times in Florida alone.

The problem is, she is heading to New Orleans. Are they ready? Are the levees going to be a bigger problem when the rain dumps feet into New Orleans? After reading this, I doubt they are ready for much at all.

New Orleans repeating deadly levee mistakes
Associated Press
Published: Saturday August 23, 2008


NEW ORLEANS - Signs are emerging that history is repeating itself in the Big Easy, still healing from Katrina: People have forgotten a lesson from four decades ago and believe once again that the federal government is constructing a levee system they can prosper behind.

In a yearlong review of levee work here, The Associated Press has tracked a pattern of public misperception, political jockeying and legal fighting, along with economic and engineering miscalculations since Katrina, that threaten to make New Orleans the scene of another devastating flood.

Dozens of interviews with engineers, historians, policymakers and flood zone residents confirmed many have not learned from public policy mistakes made after Hurricane Betsy in 1965, which set the stage for Katrina; many mistakes are being repeated.

"People forget, but they cannot afford to forget," said Windell Curole, a Louisiana hurricane and levee expert. "If you believe you can't flood, that's when you increase the risk of flooding. In New Orleans, I don't think they talk about the risk."
click post title for more

Fay finally going away!

Tropical Storm Fay moving away from Central Florida
Aug 22, 2008 10:09 -0400


Updated: 6 minutes ago
At 8 a.m., the center of the tropical storm approached Gainsville, forecasters said. Fay should continue to head west for the next couple of days. Latest Updates from the Hurricane Blog
Wekiva Falls residents evacuated
No part of Seminole spared by Fay's rath
Brevard County Health Department closed Friday
More than 5,000 homes without power in Brevard
Rollins open; University of Florida, Brevard Community College closed

Fay parked off Florida coast and needs to move

updated 1 minute ago
Fay parks off Florida coast
Tropical Storm Fay is hovering just off Florida's east coast, dumping relentless rains and causing what Gov. Charlie Crist calls "historic flooding." The storm is expected to make its third Florida landfall later today and move slowly over the northern peninsula. Fay has sustained winds of 60 mph and may pour 30 inches of rain in some areas. full story