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Impacts of Wildfires and Hurricanes on Lee County: A Call for Enhanced Preparedness

Lee County, with a population of 571,344 and 15,126 private non-farm businesses, faces significant challenges from natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. Recent wildfires have displaced businesses and adversely affected the health of the majority, especially the elderly. Historically, hurricanes like Andrew and Charley have caused extensive damage with billions in losses and substantial fatalities. This report highlights the financial impact, response strategies, and the need for improved disaster preparedness to mitigate future risks.

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Impacts of Wildfires and Hurricanes on Lee County: A Call for Enhanced Preparedness

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  1. Disaster Group IDS 3920 Sarah Good Casey Pond Carlos Calante Rachel Carden

  2. Lee county • Population : 571,344 • Private NonFarm Business: 15,126 • Land Area, 2000 (square miles): 803.63 • Persons per Square mile: 548.4

  3. Wild Fires • Thousands of acres of land are up in flames • More than unnatural • Displaces business, • Affects health of majority of lee county population, elderly

  4. Wild Fires Picture and video taken by: Carlos Calante

  5. Hurricanes • Hurricanes that effected Ft. Myers: Hazel, Donna, Isabell, Judith, Abbey, Jenny, Dennis, Bob, Andrew, Gordon, Harvey, Gabrielle, Charley, Wilma. • In 1960 Hurricane Donna hit Southwest Florida as a Category 4 • 140 mph winds • 10 to 12 inches of rain in Southwest Florida • 1992 Hurricane Andrew hit as a Category 5 hurricane • caused 23 deaths and a total of $26.5 billion dollars in damage (38.1 billion 2006) • 25% of the Florida Everglades trees were knocked down by the storm. • August 13th 2004 Hurricane Charley made landfall in Southwest Florida • 10 direct deaths, 20 indirect deaths, and 13 billion dollars in damage making it the fourth costliest hurricane to hit the United States

  6. Hurricanes • 145 mph when it hit Port Charlotte • Storm surge of 6.5 feet at Captiva Island and created a ¼ mile inlet now know as Charley’s cut • It cut off power to as many as two million people in Florida. About 240,000 were still without power a week after Charley made landfall. • Damage to the Citrus crop was $150 million • Hurricane Wilma hit on October 24th 2005 • Directly responsible for 35 deaths and 26 indirect deaths in Florida • Damage in Florida alone caused $20.6 billions dollars in damage • FPL stated that Wilma left 6,000,000 people without power

  7. Financial Effects • Four hurricanes (Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne) and one tropical storm (Bonnie) pummeled the state last year leaving behind more than $50 billion http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200507/florida.html

  8. Financial Effects cont. • Tax Impact • This swell of economic activity also lined the state's coffers with $2 billion in unexpected tax revenues. • Tourism • A record 76 million tourists visited Florida in 2004 and spent nearly $57 billion. • In 2005, 40 billion tourists visited Florida and spent $25 billion • Crop and Orange Industry • The $9 billion dollar citrus industry absorbed $2 billion in hurricane-related damages http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200507/florida.html

  9. Financial Effects cont. • Plan and Preparedness • Donations and Taxes help in the aiding for preparing for future inevitable disasters • Donations accumulate millions of dollars each year in the planning of another disaster • Florida in effect has incorporated florida tax relief funds for those affected by hurricanes. Also a multi million dollar fund http://www.cfdiocese.org/news/news06/dplan06.htm

  10. Financial Effects Cont. • Upside to disasters • According to Enterprise Florida, a public/private partnership working to diversify Florida's economy, 225,000 new, non-agricultural jobs were created in the Sunshine State between May 2004 and May 2005 • With the National Weather Service predicting 12 to 15 storms to form this season -- with half of them becoming full-blown hurricanes -- the Sunshine State's economic future looks bright, even if the weather forecast isn't. http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200507/florida.html

  11. Preventing Disasters • Building Codes • Prescribed Burns • Drainage Systems

  12. Building Codes • Hurricane Straps • Polyurethane Foam

  13. Prescribed Burns • Accumulation of Fuels • Manageability • Cost Effective

  14. Drainage • SFWMD • C-43 Basin Project • Southwest Florida Feasibility Study • Gator Slough Improvements

  15. Picture and video taken by: Carlos Calante Drainage

  16. Preventing Disasters “Economic losses worldwide from natural disasters in the 1990s could have been reduced by $280 billion of just $40 billion had been invested in preventative measures.” - State of the World 2007 p. 123

  17. WAIS Divide Antarctica Project • View pictures of Antarctica Research Team here: http://picasaweb.google.com/calantec/JoeAntarticaResearchGroup • To visit main website click here: http://www.waisdivide.unh.edu/

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