We in Florida’s Tampa Bay area have incurred lots of damage, mostly on the coast from Hurricane Helene. Businesses will take time to recover. Meanwhile all we can say is it could have been worse. Our hearts break to see the suffering delivered by Hurricane Helene for folks, up north and to date, 115 deaths.
I’m so angry from watching the news’s coverage because I can’t help but wonder if there could’ve been less damage if states like Florida were not led by the GOP MAGA leaders invested on ideological grounds to reflexively discount the reality of climate change, and the preference to maneuver consumers into private markets for the purchase property insurance coverage with costly premiums instead of bolstering the funding of state-run property insurance entities.
What if GOP MAGA FL Governor Ron DeSantis hadn’t nixed accessing $346 million federal dollars in 2023 via the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that could’ve been used to better prepare Florida for hurricanes in 2024? I bet the $346 million federal dollars could have purchased several AquaFences, that successfully protected Tampa General Hospital from storm surges that devastated the rest of Davis Island, and which cost $1 million dollars in 2019.
Something on TechSpot.com caught my attention:
Tampa General Hospital on Davis Island is a stone’s throw from the bay. The hospital employees made preparations to weather the storm by deploying an advanced, water-tight floodwall system designed by AquaFence, a Norwegian company specializing in flood protection. The AquaFence FloodWall is a rapidly deployable flood defense that doesn’t require additional fill, weights, or supports. It can withstand storm surges of up to 15 feet. Once in place and anchored, the wall forms a water-tight barrier that actually stabilizes and strengthens as water pressure increases.
While the rest of Davis Island has ended up in ruins because of Hurricane Helene, the hospital is okay.
See: AquaFence FloodWall: Premier Flood Barrier Solution
How engineering saved Tampa General Hospital from Hurricane/TechSpot
As per the September 27, 2024 Washington Post article by Sarah Raza, “How the AquaFence protected Tampa’s hospital during Helene:”
Excerpts:
As surging water from Hurricane Helene inundated the Tampa Bay area Thursday, Tampa General Hospital stayed dry, thanks to a temporary floodwall that protected the hospital.
In a video posted by the hospital, which sits on an island in Hillsborough Bay, a fence several feet tall keeps the floodwaters at bay as Helene churns through the area.”
The floodwall was made by AquaFence, a Norwegian company that supplies industrial-grade, watertight barriers that can be rapidly deployed in a flood.
“We can confirm the AquaFence worked effectively to prevent the storm surge in Tampa Bay from flooding the TGH main campus on Davis Islands,” Jennifer Crabtree, vice president of corporate communications and chief of staff at the hospital, wrote in a statement.
“Hospital crews set up the barrier Wednesday, the day before Helene, now a tropical storm, arrived in Florida. Capable of withstanding up to 15 feet of storm surge, the AquaFence protected the hospital through the night during the worst of the storm as videos showed floodwaters several feet high swelling on the other side of the barrier.”
“The floodwall has shielded the hospital through multiple storms over the past five years. It continues to be updated to improve its strength, with resin anchors and concrete attachment points added last year.”
As per InspireMore.com, “Crews Saved Hospital From Hurricane Helene:”
Excerpts:
“Dustin Pasteur, vice president of facilities at TGH, told Fox 13 that preparing the AquaFence takes 3 days and 60 people. The fence is nine feet tall and 1,000 feet long.”
“We’re a 100-year-old hospital, and we’re right here on the bay. We can’t evacuate,” he explained. “There are not enough hospital beds in the region to take our patients.”
“The AquaFence cost $1 million and the facility used it for the first time in 2021. Fox 13 reported Tampa is the only hospital in the world to use an AquaFence for protection.”
Report names donors bankrolling climate change disinformation/ MSN
Congressional report reveals how big oil engaged in Climate Lies/ Yahoo…
Florida’s Environmental Failure Is a Warning for Rest of Country/ Time 2023 …
The GOP MAGA ex-president’s insensitivity and thinking about climate change is reflected in the September 29, 2024 Washington Post article by Maxine Joselow, “You’ll be okay’: Trump’s message to Hurricane Helene victims sparks controversy:”
Excerpts:
“KamalaHQ, the Harris campaign’s X account, immediately shared the video clip with its roughly 1.3 million followers, suggesting that the former president was downplaying a deadly disaster and showing a lack of empathy.”
“Trump: “You’ll be okay,” the tweet read, along with the parenthetical note, “(Dozens of deaths have already been reported).”
“On and off social media, the campaign and its supporters also hammered Trump for denying human-caused climate change, which scientists say is allowing hurricanes such as Helene to rapidly intensify. In addition, Harris allies highlighted that Project 2025 — the road map for a second Trump administration drafted by conservative think tanks in Washington — would privatize weather forecasting now done by federal agencies.”
“Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax.” During a news conference in New York on Thursday, he argued that “nuclear warming” poses a greater threat to humanity than global warming, echoing comments he made during an August conversation with billionaire Elon Musk.”
“During his first term, Trump faced criticism for his handling of major hurricanes. In 2018, he casually tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria a year earlier.”
“In a 2019 incident that became known as Sharpiegate, Trump used a marker to modify a NOAA forecast map and incorrectly suggest Hurricane Dorian could affect Alabama. An investigation later found political influence led NOAA to release a statement backing Trump’s false claim and undermining its own forecast.”
“Trump has made it crystal clear that he’ll respond to climate disasters exactly the same way he did during his presidency,” Pete Jones, director at the liberal strategic communications firm Climate Power, said.”
Gronda Morin 
Hi. Gronda I love that idea. I wish so many of the Florida cities that are so close to the water or low lying to water like marshes / preserves would use such systems. We live in North Fort Myers and are still trying to recover from Ian. The hurricane that decided to remove the front 3rd of our home roof and one wall, and did damage to the entire structure. We live close to the Caloosahatchee River and a marsh wetlands area. But our biggest issue now is every storm including this last one is that successive neighbors have block off or filled in the storm drains on their property. Now the water backs up under their homes so they scream about it, and it floods our back and south side lawn. So we are thinking of ways to form a higher barrier around our home on the back and south. We have several ideas as raised gardens surrounded by some material that is interlocked to not let the water in from the flood. But then the problem is the massive amounts of rain, how to drain it from the raised gardens from the home. So we are thinking some type of barrier against the home itself.
Nice to talk to a fellow Floridian and I hope you did not take damage this storm. We did not, our neighbor to the north did and one of our friends lost their new pan roof. Several other people took more minor roof damage or gutter type loses. Grand post, I read all of your posts but rarely comment. You do great work. Hugs. Scottie
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Hi!
It’s great to hear from you. If you ever get up to North Tampa, let me know.
I’m so sorry to learn about your nightmarish neighbors while you’re still trying to recover from Hurricane Ian. This is what life can look like in Florida.
Drainage issues are a big pain in Florida. Where I am, there’s a neighbor suing our condo HOA for his drainage problems having caused flooring issues with his wood flooring even though he never placed a moisture barrier product when he installed his flooring, which is a big no-no in Florida.
Of course, your neighborhood nightmare is much worse. But the point that I’m trying to make is, Floridians could have done a lot to mitigate their property from harm done by storms with the monies GOP MAGA climate change denying Governor Ron DeSantis nixed because he refused to access $346 million federal dollars in 2023.
There is a less expensive option called a “Tiger Dam.” It’s a flexible, inflatable flood barrier that was installed around the perimeter of Manatee Memorial Hospital and a fire house that was successful in its use.
I looked for the price tag on my Bing search engine: Tiger Dam™ Homeowners Unit Kit + Free Delivery US$219.00
Hugs, Gronda
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Thank you Gronda for the suggestion. I will relay it to Ron. Hugs.
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Hi!
Did you see the 60 minutes TV show that exposed some of the shady tactics by property insurance companies to avoid making payments in Florida. On my last post, I added a link to this show in case you hadn’t seen it.
Hugs, Gronda
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Hi Gronda. No I did not watch it. Been really behind on stuff. Ron and I talked about the barriers for the water and I looked them up on Amazon and they are not that costly. We have at least 20 feet in the back of the home and another 20 or so on the side that we would need to protect. Ron said 10 to 12 inches high would be enough. Hugs, Scottie
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Hi again!
FYI! If you or others been affected by Hurricane Milton or Helene, you can go to http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov and FEMA will provide $1200 if you’ve been without power for 24 hours…And if anyone lets FEMA know that they’re without food and in danger of going hungry, FEMA can grant $750.00. FEMA can also help with hotel accommodations for those without power for days and/ or those who can’t return home.
Hugs, Gronda
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Hi Gronda. Yes thank you. After Ian we went online and filed our claim. Three days later a representative came and filled out some forms, toured the home, seen the damage and FEMA a few days later a sum of money appeared in our main bank account. I implore everyone to not listen to the horrible lies tRump and the right are putting out. Hugs
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Hi!
I’m hoping that you and Ron doing okay after Milton’s visit. This has been a nightmare.
Hugs, Gronda
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Hi Gronda. Yes we are fine thank you. We took no damage. Ron had our place buttoned up like a fortress. We looked around most people did ok in our park with only minor damage. How about you? I hope you are unharmed and doing well. Hugs.
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Hi!
My neighborhood has been without power for days and as per the latest TECO news, we’ll not have power until 10/17. Spectrum has a huge outage in the Tampa Bay area, so I can’t use my cell phone. Otherwise, all is well.
I’ve been staying at hotel north of Orlando. Eventually, I’ll return, empty out my refrigerator and then head down to Sarasota area to stay with my daughter who does have power. So, I’ve just been chilling.
I’m glad you and Ron, survived this storm without harm.
Hugs, Gronda
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Hi Gronda. Sorry to hear you have been without power. After Ian we were almost a month without power and were the last in our area to get it back due to a power pole behind our home having fell over. They couldn’t turn on the power until they set up the pole so we were last on the list. Lucky for us and maybe not so much our neighbors we have a huge but loud generator. It runs a lot of stuff in our home so we could live almost normally. Were you able to take the stuff out of your refrigerator and give it to your daughter and friends? Spoiled food in a refrigerator is a horrible home coming to look forward to. Best wishes. Hugs
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