Cory Schwisow, the director of Monroe County Emergency Management, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
When cold weather hits, it’s rare, but Emergency Management is ready to help.
Schwisow said, “We’re going to start seeing the weather take a pretty nasty turn tomorrow night. We’re going to have winds kicking up pretty strong. We’re looking at sustained winds, about 30 miles per hour and if you put that in perspective of tropical type storms, that’s near your tropical storm type of winds, but then we’re going to have some gusts that are upwards of 45 miles per hour. So we definitely have some concerns. If you’re driving high profile vehicles over the bridges, like Long Ley and Channel Five, definitely be aware of those crosswinds. So those will be picking up tomorrow night, and then soon after those winds pick up on Sunday morning, we’re going to see those temperatures plummet, and we’re looking at wind chill factors up in the northernmost Key Largo in the lower 30s. We haven’t seen temperatures like that, in sometime in the Keys. And so in preparation for that, emergency management, we’ve been working this whole week, working with the American Red Cross and our other county departments, the sheriff’s office. We’re going to be opening up Plantation Key Community Center at 7pm tomorrow on Saturday, so 7pm tomorrow night, and we’ll remain open until 7am Sunday and then we’ll reopen at 7pm Sunday night, and then we’ll shut down the warming center at 7am on Monday. And this is just going to be a location where, if we have vulnerable populations, where they need to get out the elements, or they need a place just to warm themselves, they can check into our warming station. We’ll have cots and blankets there for the short time that you’re going to be there, and we’ll have some water and it’s just a way to get you out of the elements and in a safe location.”
Be careful about heat sources.
Schwisow said, “If you don’t have a proper heat source, please do not bring those open flame heat sources into your home. There are fire hazards there, but carbon monoxide poisoning, we definitely don’t want you to do that. When I first moved to the Keys, many years ago, when I was stationed down here, we had a cold front come through, and I remember my wife saying, hey, we need to turn the heat on. Well, we quickly found out we didn’t have heat in our house.”
There could also be some coastal flooding, too.
Schwisow said, “With these winds, they’re going to be bringing in some of those seas, so some of those areas that we have king tide issues, just be prepared that you might see some small coastal flooding. But throughout this entire event, we’ve activated our emergency management hotline, so that that number, it’s on our website, but it’s 1-800-955-5504. We will have one of our information officers being able to answer that phone call. We’ll also have ordered messages on that line to put out the information of this warming center.”
The people on liveaboards also have to be prepared.
Schwisow said, “You think about taking 30 mile an hours directly into the side of your vessel, you have a big broadside area so make sure that, if you’re a live aboard, make sure your vessel is secured properly, and then those who have vessels in the water near your sea wall, make sure they’re secured properly with the proper bumpers, so that you don’t damage your boat or your sea wall.”
Preparation is always critical.
Schwisow said, “We have an absolutely phenomenal team. It’s a small team. We only have four emergency managers in the county, but they have been extremely proactive this entire week, , coordinating the setup with all of our partners. We’ve even received some volunteers from our Monroe County Emergency reserve corps. So if you’re interested in volunteering, please reach out to our emergency management team. We’ll get you signed up, and we’ll get you alerts. And we’re always looking for volunteers.”
For more information, click here: https://www.monroecountyem.com/1324/Emergency-Management/