In all things, lessons can be learned
By Rep. Mike Grant
“Thank God!”
I remember holding my wife and kids close after Hurricane Charley, so grateful to be alive and have them with me. Things can be replaced, but family cannot. The power of Mother Nature decimated Charlotte County, made my neighborhood unrecognizable and destroyed my home. Reflecting on what happened 18 years ago, I look at today and am filled with renewed strength and hope.
We made it through. We rebuilt. We persevered. We shall again.
Hurricanes Ian and Nicole tested the mettle of Florida, with Southwest Florida hit especially hard. As a high-end Category 4 storm, Hurricane Ian brought heavy rainfall, deadly storm surge and extensive wind damage. Many now ask, what does the future hold?
We have many to thank for restoring power, connecting internet, clearing roads and removing debris. The leadership of Governor DeSantis and the State Division of Emergency management coordinated with state and federal agencies, along with local governments. While the tremendous preparation for and response to the hurricanes was unprecedented, as in all things, there are lessons that can be learned and best practices to establish.
I am honored that the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Paul Renner, named me the Chair of the Select Committee on Hurricane Resiliency & Recovery for our chamber. Our committee has been tasked to review Florida’s recovery efforts surrounding Hurricanes Ian and Nicole and to ensure we are fortified for future storms.
Members of the committee hail from our communities, whose voices echo those of their constituents that face the same grief, loss and frustration dealing with the aftermath – some lost their homes and others their livelihoods. We need to learn from these experiences and improve our ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from the inevitable storms our state will face in the future.
The select committee will be meeting over the next two months. During that time, we need to identify what is currently being done and what else must be done to improve planning for, and recovering from, hurricanes.
The Division of Emergency Management and other state agencies such as the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services will update us on accomplishments and future planned actions. Local emergency management leaders, industry representatives, mental health providers, community associations and individual citizens will share their experiences.
We will be calling on experts – technical experts as well as those who are on the front lines – so that we may identify actions that should be taken and innovations that should be adopted to better prepare Florida for the future.
Part of the robust response to Hurricanes Ian and Nicole came from studying responses to previous storms, including Hurricane Charley almost two decades ago. I am confident some good will come from all of this – we will develop strategies and make recommendations to aid in the current recovery efforts for Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, and help make us even more prepared for the future.
State Representative Michael Grant is elected from House District 75, which includes the west portion of Charlotte County and southern Sarasota County. He currently serves as the House Majority Leader and the Chair of the Select Committee on Hurricane Resiliency & Recovery. Representative Grant also serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Health & Human Services Committee.
