A summer chock-full of dangerous floods, prompting iterations of the famed “Florida man” floating down city streets in a canoe to gain traction online are not the only threats to the state during hurricane season.
Hurricane season lasts from June until November each year and while Floridians may poke fun at the situation online, there is always the potential risk of an upcoming storm during these months. The latest system inching near the coast is expected to become Tropical Storm Ernesto, if it continues to gain strength, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service.
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and more than a dozen other islands in the Caribbean are under a tropical storm warning as of Monday as forecasters continue to monitor a system strengthening over the Caribbean. The system, which, if it continues to gather strength, could become Tropical Storm Ernesto, is expected to bring increased rain and flash floods to the islands.
Forecasters with the NWS expect the system to strengthen into a hurricane but that it will move toward the open waters of the western Atlantic once it moves away from Puerto Rico and heads north. While dangerous rip currents and surf conditions are projected, the system is not a threat to Florida.
Leesfield & Partners
Attorneys with the firm specialize in all practice areas of personal injury including car accidents, slip and fall cases and premises liability cases. In its 48 years practicing in Central Florida Orlando, Miami and Key West, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have seen the after-effects these storms have on entire communities, clients and their families.
The firm’s Managing Partner and Founder, Ira H. Leesfield, was instrumental in securing legislation mandating the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in and around sleeping quarters of new builds following a Leesfield & Partners case in Key West that caught national attention. The case involved a family staying at a hotel who was exposed to carbon monoxide due to a boiler room roof vent that was damaged due to a hurricane. The family was thankfully able to call 911 before they succumbed to the effects of breathing in the colorless, odorless carbon monoxide gas. Another family, a father and son, was later assigned to the same room at the hotel and they were also exposed to the carbon monoxide gas during their stay but were able to call for emergency services. Data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that about 400 Americans die every year from accidental carbon monoxide exposure.
Attorneys with the firm discovered the hotel failed to have a licensed technician inspect and repair a boiler room roof vent that had been damaged from Hurricane Wilma and secured over $1 million in settlement for the family.
After Hurricane Andrew, a storm that is estimated to have caused almost $30 billion in damages and claimed 44 lives in 1992, Florida legislators worked to pass laws that would protect people and property in case of natural disasters. One such move implemented uniform building codes to prevent building collapses and fortify new and existing buildings against hurricanes and other natural disasters. In 1998, the first Florida Building Code was passed. While these codes exist to protect the vulnerable, they are not always followed and can result in life-altering avoidable injuries.
This can be seen in the case of an 11-year-old girl who died after she was electrocuted while reaching into a pond for her golf ball. When the child began screaming another person tried reaching for her and was also electrocuted. An investigation by attorneys with the firm showed that the resort where the girl had been playing mini-golf did not have ground fault circuit interrupters – a device made specifically to prevent electrocutions – installed for the decorative water foundation in the pond, as was required. Attorneys with the firm were able to secure a $10 million award for the family of the girl in that case.
Safety Tips
- Know your evacuation routes and pay attention to notices of where local shelters are located.
- Listen to storm officials and evacuate if told to do so.
- Only use generators if you are outdoors and away from windows.
- Do not drive, walk or swim through flood waters as it is difficult to tell how deep they go.
- Make emergency plans with family and loved ones so that everyone knows what to do and where to go in case of an emergency. It is also important to identify a meeting place so that if you ever fall out of contact with your family, you can meet at the pre-planned safety location.
- Store enough water in case of an emergency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends at least one gallon of water per family member per day. The recommendation is to keep enough water for two weeks.
- Make sure you have an emergency reserve of any necessary medications or specific foods for those who have dietary restrictions.
- Never use a generator in an enclosed space like a garage or indoors.