Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Monday his office, working with beach city governments, has developed a hang-tag identification system to allow drivers quick access to the islands after an evacuation.
However, since the program rolled out in February, only 17,000 hang tags have been handed out, while Gualtieri estimates about 88,000 people will need them.
“That gives me a lot of concern,” he said, urging people to get the tags as soon as possible.
Gualtieri joined a handful of county emergency management officials at a news conference marking the beginning of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.
The annual media day was the first at the county’s $81 million emergency operations center that opened last summer at the public safety complex, 10750 Ulmerton Road. The center will serve as storm headquarters for emergency staff, public officials and law enforcement. Built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, it can house emergency staff and media for several days, if necessary.
The sheriff’s emergency access permit program is new this year, designed to coordinate re-entry plans for evacuated beach communities, from Tierra Verde to Clearwater Beach. The goal is to keep out looters and burglars, while allowing locals to get to their property.
“We’re not just going to let anybody in,” he said. “We don’t want people out there who don’t belong in the area.”
The program provides residents and businesses with identification hang tags, color coded according to each city. The rearview mirror tags will allow people to move quickly through the nine beach access checkpoints staffed by deputies, who will have scanners to read bar codes on the tags, Gualtieri said.
“Everybody else is going get backlogged, and it’s going to be a mess,” the sheriff said. Those without tags will have to wait while deputies verify their identifications, which can be time consuming.
The hang tags are available at municipal offices in the 12 beach communities. Each household is allowed two tags, and businesses owners may get multiple tags for employees, depending on the size of the business, Gualtieri said. Checkpoints at city borders will keep people from wandering from place to place, he said.
“We’re trying to help them. That’s really what this is about,” the sheriff said.
Signing up as a storm is approaching will be “too little, too late,” he said. “If you wait until that period of time, you’re probably going to be out of luck.”
He said of the approximately 40,000 properties on the beaches, about 9,000 have been issued hang tags. He hopes to get at least 75 percent compliance.
“We don’t want chaos at re-entry. In a lot of respects, there is a lot more tension, a lot more anxiety, when people try to get back,” not knowing what awaits them, he said.
Gualtieri said his staff developed the software for the scanner program, and the office spent about $75,000 on tags and scanners for the system.
Also, Emergency Management Director Sally Bishop issued the annual reminder to residents to know their evacuation zones, where they will go if they must leave, and to stock up on supplies if they do not have to evacuate.
Evacuation zone information is available on property tax notices, utility bills or by checking an address on the county’s emergency management website, www.pinellascounty.org/emergency. The site also includes a Storm Surge Protector Application that can provide detailed information on evacuation zones and the threat from storm surge, which Bishop said is the No. 1 killer in hurricanes.
Those who plan leave the county should do so as soon as possible, even before evacuation orders, to avoid traffic jams, she said. They are advised to take any route that gets them out of the storm’s path, as the county will not set up emergency evacuation routes – although drawbridges will be locked in the down position. Public shelters are limited and should be a last resort for evacuees, she said.
Bishop said evacuees also may need identification to get back into the county soon after a storm. A driver license with the correct address, a state ID card, and utility or tax bills are among the acceptable forms of identification, she said.
Forecasters are predicting a relatively quiet season, with three hurricanes expected during next six months. Florida hasn’t been hit by a hurricane in nine seasons, and Pinellas hasn’t been hit directly since 1921.
Still, with the state’s great exposure to the storms, emergency planners says it is important to be prepared and on guard.
Pinellas has updated and expanded its notification system, adding more social media, cell phone alerts and text messaging, Bishop said. The county’s 16-page emergency information, planning and tips guide, “Surviving the Storm,” is available at public libraries and municipal buildings, as well as on the county’s website.
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