by County Vice Mayor Hal Valeche

I am sure that everyone is breathing a sigh of relief that we were spared most of the damaging winds from Hurricane Matthew.  While we have had to deal with the nuisances of clean up, waiting for restoration of electrical power in some areas and getting vegetation removed, there is no question that our damage from the Matthew storm event has been minimal. 

A frequently quoted motto attributed to former NFL quarterback Charlie Batch says, "Proper preparation prevents poor performance."  I think this typifies the philosophy of the Emergency Management Division, Palm Beach County staff, and every one of our partners in our cities, law enforcement, fire rescue and community service agencies who swiftly mobilized to prepare and inform the public, set up shelters, and employ the systems we have in place to protect all of us in hurricanes and other emergency events.

 A total of 7,560 people stayed in the county's 13 general population shelters and 184 people stayed at the "special needs" shelter at the South Florida Fairgrounds.  The pet-friendly shelter at West Boynton Recreation Center was completely full, with 245 guests who stayed there with their pets.  Approximately 200 animals were cared for at the shelter.

The Emergency Information Center fielded at least 5,289 phone calls from residents.  A majority of the calls were focused on evacuations and shelters and many of the after-storm calls pertained to roads, power outages and transportation systems Palm Tran and Tri-Rail.

Once full activation at the Emergency Operations Center was suspended, crews from County Engineering, the Building Division, Fire Rescue and Parks and Recreation departments went out to assess damage, which also included aerial surveys.  No significant damage or incidents were reported within the county.

One of the more visible effects of our brush with Hurricane Matthew was the accumulation of vegetation and yard waste that occurred as part of each resident's cleanup effort.  In this instance, while we're all grateful that the storm did not rise to the level of a disaster declaration it also meant that FEMA money was not coming our way to help defray costs and waste hauler contract provisions for extra vegetation and debris removal were not triggered.  So unless your neighborhood contracts for private removal of vegetation, your piles probably sat for a few weeks until the regular haulers were able to catch up and process the excess debris.

With the additional rains that occurred, Mosquito Control continued to monitor mosquito populations in relation to the Zika virus.  Residents are urged to eliminate mosquito breeding sites such as small containers, stored equipment, trays beneath potted plants, and blocked gutters around their buildings – all of which can hold water and breed mosquitoes.  The efforts of proactive residents have shown to be very effective in helping to control mosquito populations.

As county emergency managers assess how systems performed during this most recent activation, lessons learned will help expand our knowledge base to help us improve our responses in the future.

If there is any way that I or my staff can assist you, please do not hesitate to contact me at (561) 355-2201 or by email at hvaleche@pbcgov.org.