Page 12 - life-in-naples-march-2016

STATE OF
THE
The calm
AFTER THE STORM
A s many of you know, January was a very active
weather month. The most notable was Sunday,
January 17th. At approximately 5:18 in the
morning a “Tornado Warning” was issued for
Collier County. The City of Naples Fire-Rescue received
the first storm related run at 5:30 a.m. and ran at least 44 cleanup was done by City staff Parks and Parkways, Utilities, Police
additional incident responses since that time. It appears
that at least one tornado came ashore in the 3600 block of
Gordon Drive travelling in a Northeast direction.The storms
brought a significant ocean storm surge that washed across
the southern end of Gordon Drive with approximately
a foot of standing water and debris. The Annual Naples
Daily News Half Marathon was cancelled at approximately
6:00 a.m. At 9:00 a.m., ocean waves were impinging upon
beachfront home foundations, the City Pier was closed and
it appears that the beach has been severely eroded.
The storms came across Port Royal, Aqualane Shores,
Royal Harbor and Olde Naples. The damages in these areas
range from trees down, heavy limbs snapped, fencing taken
down, palm fronds snapped and lots of FPL wires down.
There were approximately 750 to 1000 homes and businesses
without power in the City of Naples.
Fire-Rescue Department units first concentrated on
removing trees from primary streets with chain saws and
truck winches and then moved toward secondary street
clearance. The NFR placed two additional reserve engine
companies into service to handle any increase in emergency
call volume.
A NPD officer was assigned to a city work crew to
provide traffic control while debris and fallen trees/limbs
were cleared from the roadways. By 7:40 a.m., only two
intersections remained with inoperable traffic lights:
7th Ave. N./US 41 and 7th Ave. N./Goodlette Rd. N.
(operational by 9:30 a.m.). The minor flooding along
GSBN and GSBS had receded enough to allow slow
passage by vehicles, although most of the City south of
7th Ave. N. was without power. As the morning progressed
12
CIT YMAYOR JOHN SOREY
and citizens began assessing damage.
Staff within Parks and Parkways was contacted the morning of
the storm and asked to come in for storm clean up as were others
from various departments by their respective supervisors. The initial
and Fire. By mid-afternoon on Sunday, a substantial amount of roads
in the southern end of the city were debris free.This was accomplished
by either hauling debris away or moving it to the right-of-way. City
staff continued cleanup efforts throughout the day.
On Monday, January 18th the Martin Luther King Day parade
was scheduled to begin at 11 am. City staff from the Community
Services and Utilities Department worked together to ensure the
parade route and Cambier Park were free of branches and palm
fronds.
Several large trees fell blocking roads entirely, these impassable
roads were priority. In addition one of the city’s arborist began a
tree/palm assessment from north to south. This effort identified
broken limbs within the canopy, severely damaged canopies, and
totally lost trees/palms.
Many of you know that Naples does not get this much rain at this
time of year, The Southwest Florida Water Management District has
reported January 2016 - rainfall 10.79” Historical average January
rainfall 1.80”.
The City Manager brought in many staff to help both on Sunday
and Monday (MLK Day) The city was up and ready for business, if
we had a call from a resident our staff was there to answer the call.
Many folks asked me after the storm, if I was surprised how fast the
City of Naples cleaned up and got back to business. That was one of
the easiest questions I have had recently, simply… I am not surprised!
We have the best city staff that work together for the greater good,
and that greater good is to always make Naples the best place to
work, live and play! Safety has and will always be our number one
priority of the City of Naples and I want to thank all of our residents
and our city staff for working in a calm collaborative effort.
Each and every day I am inspired by something I see and hear in
Naples. If you have something to share, please feel free to contact me
at sorey@naplesgov.com.
Life in Naples | March 2016