We tend to forget unpleasant experiences, and denying reality makes us a happier person. Fortunately, we have public officials here in Dunnellon and Marion County who do face reality and understand the serious responsibilities of hurricane preparation.

It was only five years ago in 2017, during the second week of September, when Hurricane Irma forcibly brushed our local landscape with torrential rain and wicked winds. The result was nearly 8 inches of rainfall. Powerful wind gusts were evident as roadways flooded, trees toppled, a thousand county homes were damaged, 70 county roadways flooded and 50 sinkholes opened. There were 140,000 residents in Marion County who lost power, some for several days. Florida closed public offices and schools from Sept 8 through Sept. 11.

Today, our Marion County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is more than ready for another hurricane event than the agency was in the summer of 2017. Dunnellon’s hurricane preparedness staff works with and independently of Marion EOC. Marion EOC, headed by Preston Bowlin for the past five years, has updated both procedures and equipment to expedite emergency response times to hurricane damage to roads, property and persons.

Marion County has recently purchased 20 iPads that have cellular capability to speed up hurricane damage assessments. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has put its SWAT team members and other special teams through “chainsaw school,” and most MCSO deputies are driving about the county with a gassed-up chainsaw in their police cruiser trunk, ready to clear fallen trees that come down on roadways.

Within Dunnellon City limits, Public Works Manager Troy Slattery, likewise, has chainsaws and generators gassed up and waiting for use. Police Chief Mike McQuaig is the official emergency situation coordinator of Dunnellon with direct communication ties to Marion EOC.

Though Slattery has his work crew ready to come into Dunnellon and stay for any hurricane cleanup needed, the City of Dunnellon also has a professional tree service contractor on call who is expected to respond immediately when Slattery calls for their assistance for immediate tree removal. That equates to City Finance Officer Jan Smith and City Manager Mandy Odom having funds readily available to pay contractors called in to handle large downed trees as well as emergency road repairs such as sinkholes.

Hurricanes come in fast, and the post-hurricane response must be equally fast to keep the city safe and open for business.

Chief McQuaig and Lt. Shane Yox will call all Dunnellon law enforcement staff to patrol Dunnellon streets in the event of a hurricane and deal with the problems of expected power outages.

Dunnellon City Hall has a generator for backup power, and the Fire Department also has a generator for electric power back up. Marion EMO will supply fuel for these generators as needed and for city vehicles, if needed.

Though Dunnellon currently has back up generators for two traffic lights on Williams Street, attention must be given to flooded and tree-limb-impeded streets and vehicle traffic. If necessary, our Dunnellon Chief of Police will put into effect and enforce a curfew to protect residential and business properties during an extended power outage.

The assessment of damages to public and private properties begins immediately after a hurricane leaves our town. That would be the responsibility of Slattery, who has direct contact with FEMA via Marion Emergency Management Services. Some damages to City property will be handled as needed by City staff as they file claims immediately with the City’s property insurance carrier.

While the rest of us enjoy days at the river and dining in town with friends and family, we can be assured that the City of Dunnellon is able and ready to respond to the not-so-pleasant tasks of cleanup and order in Dunnellon after a hurricane blows in. It takes a team to run a city, and fortunately, Dunnellon’s city staff is well prepared for emergency scenarios through coordination with Marion EOC.

It is also important that every resident have their own hurricane preparedness plan. It’s hurricane season once again, from now through November.

Jan Cubbage is a member of the Dunnellon City Council.

Jan Cubbage is a member of the Dunnellon City Council.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to read or post comments.

Sorry, no promotional deals were found matching that code.

Promotional Rates were found for your code.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular articles.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.