Be prepared, Baldwin

Dear Editor,

My “In the Eye” Hurricane Preparedness insert arrived. This is the 15th year after Katrina (a return cycle). I was looking forward to new information, wondering what changes to make in storm season preparation, especially with regards to COVID-19. Reading the insert was like eating a stale rice cake with no milk. It lacked substance, was dry (with the same information served year after year with no updates) and really stuck in my craw.

 Residents are living in 2020, yet the Baldwin County Commission/EMA appears stuck in a 2010 time capsule as the insert published a 2010 evacuation zone map and ignored the topic of COVID. This lack of attention to detail reveals two important things: 1) Baldwin County has either not conducted due diligence to keep their evacuation zone map/plan current with sea level rise, the new FEMA map changes, and the increased population (25-45 percent) or 2) They failed to review the information put in the insert. Both disturbing.

The Emergency Kit information needed COVID-19 readiness. The timing for the hurricane prep activities appeared odd considering traffic congestion, population, and speed of rising water. In 2020, water is often at the edge of the Causeway on sunny dry days. The published insert recommends that you review your evac plan with your family at 36 hours prior to landfall. What will the Causeway and tributaries along 225 look like at 36 hours prior to a hurricane? Why not tell residents to plan for no less than two weeks of food and water instead of 72 hours? Residents in Hurricane Michael experienced 18 days without supplies and this was before the COVID resource demand.

My mother worked as Director of Nurses of Thomas Hospital the night Hurricane Frederic made landfall and grasped its power. Images of hospital doors bowing with storm pressure while patients were in the hallways stayed with her. After that, she prepped early and evacuated a week prior to every major storm. At 94, she needled her assisted living management because they did not even have a generator for residents on oxygen. The state of Alabama has four inspectors for approximately 300 nursing home facilities in Alabama. Eventually, the facility was cited for the violation. Does Baldwin County have elder care facilities and homeowner associations on their radar for preparedness? Are they taking the messages to the streets or are they just repeating the same musty mantras and then going to blame residents when they are not ready?

The evac maps in the insert were small and illegible. Not all elderly own computers for online map viewing. The insert described Baldwin County’s procedure for transportation to evacuation shelters outside the county, but never listed the state/towns of the shelter locations. Baldwin County has no local structurally sound pet shelters. We have many residents who are non-native residents. Why has Baldwin County not explained to them storm surges of 20-plus feet can occur with a direct hit. During Katrina in Mississippi, water went all the way to I-10. That is a motivator for preparation. 

In 15 years, Baldwin County “approved” many new trailer parks but have not built structurally sound shelters to accommodate the population that needs them most, elderly retirees on fixed incomes and the poor. During WKRG’s TV Hurricane Special, Baldwin County warned the public that their shelters will be functioning at a reduced capacity this year and lack structural integrity. This is a day late and a dollar short. Did the county learn anything from Katrina and are those failures to be repeated? Katrina’s impact on Baldwin County was nearly 100 miles away from landfall. Frederic (1979) occurred when the county was a rural, self-sufficient county with strong FEMA backing. In 2020, the county is urbanized with grocery supply chains and weak federal assistance. A TV show saying “Be Prepared” and an out-of-date hurricane insert are not enough in a pandemic. Baldwin County needs to be held accountable for these deficiencies and speak to the citizens about 2020.   

Cordially,

Nancy Milford
Spanish Fort resident