Management Essay: State of Florida's Response to Hurricane Matthew

State of Florida's Response to Hurricane Matthew
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State of Florida's Response to Hurricane Matthew
History has proven that October is a season of hurricanes in the state of Florida, with attention shifting to the Gulf of Mexico, the Bay of Campeche, and the Caribbean. In 2016, Hurricane Mathew was one of the most powerful storms. Here is an assessment of Florida's response and preparedness to hurricane Mathew.
On 6th October 2016, Governor Scott issued an update on hurricane Mathew's preparedness and response efforts as the storm impacted Florida. Approximately 1.5 million Floridians were already in evacuation zones. The state designed a website, FloridaEvacuates.com, or Florida-Evacuates app where the residents or visitors could enter their location and find available shelters in the area. As of that day, 130 shelters were available across the counties. There were 150 truckloads of water prepositioned around the state and 63 truckloads of water at the State Logistics Response Centre (SLRC) for emergencies, which included 302,000 gallons of water. The SLRC also had a trailer with more than 10,000 meal kits. Power companies prepositioned their personnel to assist in the potential power outages, with the governor issuing an order to ensure no unmet needs. The Department of Health (DOH) worked around the clock to prepare for the storm and evacuate patients in the hospitals (Hurricane Matthew News Archive, 2016).
The state monitored supply, distribution, and issues related to fuel shortages and offered immediate refuel services to those in need. In the event of the closure of ports, the available fuel storage could have lasted the state for six days. The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) activated an emergency contact system for east coast Florida schools and districts and monitored closures made at college and district levels. The state scheduled closure of county and state offices on 7th October 2016. Florida had over 3,000 National Guard Members to deployed whenever needed, with an additional 3,500 National Guard Members to support hurricane preparedness and response. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), and other partners deployed resources in responding to storm and assisting in evacuations. The stated worked for hand in hand with volunteers and were open to others as they opened applications in their portals. VISIT FLORIDA activated an emergency accommodation module for visitors to get informed. The state also closed more than 90 state parks and campgrounds (Hurricane Matthew News Archive, 2016).
The National Response Framework (NRF) for disaster mandated state governments with responsibilities of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. The Florida Division of Emergency...