HWAW Essay Contest Winners

Grand Prize Winner: Region 6

Imagine having your community demolished and thrown into a state of complete and utter devastation due to nature's fury. Sadly, this nightmare comes true for many U.S. citizens as life threatening hurricanes bombard our country each year. Even more sad is how proper precautions are not always taken.

As the mayor of my community I would do absolutely everything in my power to secure the safety of everyone, and everything, by properly preparing for the storm. I would open up roads and highways, evacuate endangered areas, open shelters that are pet friendly, close schools, make sure everyone had wood and sandbags, and declare a state of emergency. With the right precautions, many lives could be saved and many buildings could still stand.

The first precaution I would take would be to set up an organized drive with the hardware stores such as Home Depot where people could come and receive free sandbags and wood to protect their homes. Red Cross would also be there to hand out hurricane safety kits, which would include first aid. To make it organized so that not everyone would be there at once, I would make the stores open to citizens with lasts names A-M from 6:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and for last names N-Z from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

I would close schools as well so that the children could help prepare with their families. Also, in case the family needed to go to a shelter I would open up many shelters around the area in the safest places. The shelters would be pet friendly so that families could bring their other loved ones as well. Previously many shelters did not allow pets, which caused a lot of pet owners to stay home with their pets, thus putting them in harm's way.

Also, I would evacuate the areas in the flood zones, and give those people hurricane passes. I would open up highways such as Alligator Alley and suspend the tolls so evacuees could get to the East coast of Florida quickly and safely. For the people who don't have cars, or cannot drive, I would coordinate bus systems to move those people to shelters, and other safe areas at no cost.

Last, I would declare a state of emergency so that my community could get government funding after the storm passed to help clean up and fix any damaged areas. This way people could get back to their daily lives as soon as possible. People could also come together to help repair damage and make the community even better than before.

In conclusion I would do as much as I could to ensure the safety of everyone and everything in my community. My community would be so well prepared that after the storm passed, life would bounce back with ease and residents would forget about the storm. Peace would be bestowed back into the area, and most importantly everyone would be healthy and safe.

Region 1

Hurricane Preparations

Pay attention everyone; a hurricane is coming our way! We have 72 hours to evacuate. As the mayor of this community, I am here to warn you of the severe weather conditions. We have evacuation routes, plenty of supplies, and shelters for those who do not feel the need to evacuate. Foremost, our evacuation route is Hwy. 231 North. As a reminder, the evacuation route will be announced on radio station 96.9 at 10:00 Wednesday morning. We will also have school buses at the town library for the evacuees that cannot drive. We will be leaving the library at around 5:30 Thursday afternoon. If you are not there when we pull out, you will have to find one of the shelters and stay until the storm is over. Those wishing to evacuate with us will have to bring their own personal necessities. However, there will be additional supplies taken with us such as: food, drink, and other perishable items. Make sure to bring all needed daily medications. Basic medications will be provided for fevers, aches and pains, colds, etc. As for those not evacuating, there will be shelters provided. The shelters will be the town library, schools, and churches. They will be boarded up for your protection. YOU MAY NOT LEAVE THE SHELTERS UNTIL THE STORM IS OVER! There will also be supplies handed out Thursday morning at 10:30. Do not open these items until necessary; these items are for emergency only! Having a plan of action is the only way to go. You’ve got to have good evacuation routes, plenty of supplies, and plenty of shelter. Without any one of these preparations you could, more than likely, be blown away!

Region 2

I am the mayor of Sandyville, Florida. According to the National Weather Service, an impending Category 5 hurricane is projected to make landfall and hit our town within 72 hours.

Immediately, I convene a meeting of all available municipal personnel. This includes the city manager, the police department, the fire & rescue department, transportation department, and the school board. Additionally, county and state officials are invited to attend. At the meeting in city hall, I would explain a two-step strategy to evacuate all residents within 36 hours, knowing that hurricane forecasts are imprecise. First, all residents with cars would be advised to evacuate within 24 hours. Secondly, we would use public school buses to evacuate local residents without transportation.

When speaking to the local community over radio and television, I would warn residents that they should evacuate within 24 hours and take a enough cash, canned food (with a can opener), and water for two weeks. Residents should move at least 100 miles inland where they will be protected from the storm surge. Additionally, everyone should take a one-month supply of prescription medicines. Important documents should be taken as well. A battery-powered radio would also be handy. Residents should also make plans to take care of pets. Individuals that fail to heed this evacuation order must understand that their lives are at risk and if they are trapped we will be unable to respond once the hurricane lands. Citizens ignoring our order will be asked to provide their next of kin information in case of their death. I would also remind residents to have a rendezvous plan and a communication plan for their family members. An out-of-state friend or family member could pass messages to family members who could otherwise become separated during the evacuation. Additionally, I would warn all residents to avoid flooded roads if possible, since even a foot of water can carry away a vehicle. Finally, I would ask my residents check on their neighbors, especially the elderly, before evacuating their own households. For those with internet access, I would recommend watching the state emergency website, http://www.floridadisaster.org. for late breaking information.

Then I would establish a 24-hour hotline for people without vehicles to evacuate. These individuals would be asked to go to the local high school gym where school buses would provide transportation. I would ask the state to send some National Guard units to set up a communications center to maintain contact with the local police and fire department. Local gas station owners would be asked to not to raises prices.

As the storm would draw near, I would ask the police to change some two-lane roads to one-way, if necessary, to reduce traffic congestion. I would request the state to mobilize all available State Troopers in order to oversee the evacuation of the region. The fire department would go house to house, making sure everyone has departed, before they personally evacuate, taking the firetrucks out of town for safety.

Region 3

Mayors Announcement

Attention everyone this is your Mayor Monique Corrigan speaking and we have a bad hurricane coming and right now it’s a category five and expecting to grow to a six. We have seventy two hours to prepare before land fall. It’s name is “D,” why, because three reasons it’s dangerous, hazardous, and deadly. So we would like all of you to start getting prepared for this storm. Start by securing your home boarding it up. Then make sure you have a full tank of gas, go to the store and get non perishable foods and water, batteries, flash lights, and radios to carry with you. Take all your important papers with you like insurance titles, birth certificates, and try to prepare your self for at least up to 4-5 days with personal items and daily needs. At this time I would like to evacuate all nursing homes, hospitals, and sick elderly and children to safe shelters you can all go to the schools or the National Guard. All persons that are on medical machines and need assistance to get to one of these shelters needs to call 1-800-GO-NOW. And if you’re planning on leaving it would be best before you go to shut off all gas tanks like propane tanks, natural gas line, kerosene, gasoline or any fuel tanks that may have lines broke from the storm. This is to insure that fires don’t break out due to the storm. If you have animals that you can’t bring with you make sure you leave them in a safe place where they still have food and water and where they won’t get hurt as bad. So for those of you preparing to leave I will now give you your evacuation route. The best way for you to go and get out of town is go west and get on interstate 95 north to interstate 10 west to Lake City and Gainesville. These towns will be set up with shelters at the local schools and National Guard to help all those evacuating. On your way there the lanes will be changed on the interstates all lanes will go north except for one lane on the southbound side all others are going to move north to make things go faster. We will have a 9’oclock curfew and be patrolling the neighbor hoods for thieves. Those that are caught during the storm will be tried with 1st degree charges and be sentenced with double time. So if your wanting to leave and you’re scared about someone getting in your house don’t worry because were watching out. We hope that you will all leave the area quickly and safely and don’t stay in your homes. For those of you that insist on staying I would like to ask you to please use a permanent maker to write your social security number on your arm and your full name across your belly. So we can identify your body when we find it.

Region 4

Stormville’s Response to Hurricane “Hilda”

Hurricane “Hilda” is within 72 hours from the City of Stormville. If it continues its present course, many lives are at risk, especially along the coastline. The future of our City and the continuation of our way of life depend on your immediate and active cooperation with emergency management personnel and any directions provided by television and radio emergency networks. As Mayor of the City of Stormville, I have activated our Emergency Management Response Team (EMRT). The EMRT will finalize all pre-storm preparation and response activities by collecting and disseminating information, and to make decisions and take actions that will minimize the storm’s impacts in a timely manner. The EMRT includes Fire and Police department heads, and other City officials representing animal control, public health, building safety, transportation, City engineers, and education officials.

The EMRT is coordinated with county and state emergency management officials, and functions to:

1. Gather and disseminate critical information to the public regarding evacuation zones and routes; flood and wind prone areas, and at-risk structures: 2. Systematically evacuate and/or shelter all at-risk populations, including those in evacuation zones, the homeless, and the sick and disabled in a safe and orderly fashion: 3. The authority to implement mandatory evacuation programs: 4. Control the timing sequence of all evacuation and sheltering protocols: 5. Insure that all shelters are adequately equipped with all necessary survival items, adequate medical services, electrical backup power, emergency communications, and police safety (each facility will be controlled by emergency management professionals); and, 6. Activate Action Teams (ATs) made up of police, fire, and volunteers, including bus and other transport services to conduct mandatory evacuations in all high-risk areas.

The EMRT has established three (3) Action Teams (ATs) assigned to conduct mandatory evacuations in all High Risk areas. These teams will have the authority to ensure that all people and animals are relocated to safe areas. The EMRT has identified and will fully equip 11 shelters throughout the city and established a population distribution program using the City’s school buses and the City’s public transportation system. There will be three central pickup areas, one in Central Park, one at the Mall Center, and one at the Transit Station. These are strategically located to provide maximum accessibility to all at-risk populations. Buses will pickup every half hour over the next two days.

This system is designed to relocate the most people as fast and as efficient as possible from harms way. Therefore it is critical for all tourists and visitors to leave the area, and if you live in a mandatory evacuation zone, it is essential and less problematic if you leave the area and head to a designated shelter or visit a friend or family member. Preventing loss of lives is much less costly than performing rescue missions or rebuilding structures. As such, we have focused our efforts and resources on evacuation networks and providing safe shelters.

Region 5

Since 2004, we have experienced devastation like we haven't seen before. With only 72 hours notice until Hurricane Paloma, I, Maryam Hemmali, as mayor of Orlando, believe that it is my duty and responsibility to keep our most important assets, our residents, safe. It would be fatal for us to succumb to the mistakes made during Hurricane Katrina, as Paloma is as equally devastating. The gravest error that was made by the authorities of Louisiana was misjudgment; they did not acknowledge the severity of the hurricane that was approaching them. We cannot repeat this if we are to get the help we'll need.

With three days notice of an approaching storm, I plan to prepare Orlando to face one of the biggest hurricanes in over 10 years. It is critical that we do not underestimate the strength of this hurricane. We must truthfully communicate to the citizens about the strength of the storm so that they do not get a false sense of security; therefore, it would be best for the citizens to evacuate as soon as possible. The consequences of any alternative would be devastating. It is vital that this evacuation order be communicated in a timely manner to the residents. We need buses, drivers, and National Guard personnel to coordinate the evacuation. Hospitals and nursing homes will be given priority to ensure that the weakest amongst us, the sick and elderly, are properly evacuated. Specific shelters will be designated as pet friendly. Georgia officials have agreed to assist us in providing shelters for the evacuees and we must ensure that there is an adequate supply of food and water. In addition, we have to post security personnel to maintain order in the shelters. There will be a central log to track where evacuees are housed so that family members can easily find each other.

In addition, schools and arenas will be used as emergency local shelters. We must nevertheless encourage residents to evacuate, as this is the best way to remain safe. For the residents who choose to stay, it is mandatory for them to register at the local shelter so that we know who's left behind and where to find them. Schools will be closed two days before the hurricane in order for them to be prepared properly. I would also advise business owners to take the necessary steps to prepare for the hurricane.

Furthermore, emergency personnel will remain on active duty as their families evacuate. It is better that we err on the side of caution than to lose a single life. All radio stations and television stations will be broadcasting my agenda for an undetermined amount of time in both English and Spanish to ensure that all the citizens of Orange County are out of harm’s way. Though we cannot change the past, it is important that we learn from the mistakes of others and properly plan for what could happen in the future. I appreciate your assistance and cooperation at this very crucial time.

Region 7

Frantic phone calls, desperate banging on doors, a deep helplessness that cannot be dispelled. As mayor of my community, the eve of a hurricane is a frenzied time, where nothing is for certain. My plans before a storm would be to try to diminish the panic in the community, organize a senior-care buddy-system, and secure evacuation routes while ensuring the safety of all, no matter what their social class.

Right before a hurricane there is an uncertainty in the air, as no one really knows what will happen, whether much damage will be done or even if the hurricane will follow its projected path or fade off in the deep blue of the ocean. Insecurity instills panic, so in my community I will present all facts possible in order that the people can prepare for what is to come and be reassured that their government is doing everything possible.

Florida is a magnet for senior citizens and their needs must be specifically addressed. Many live alone, with no family near by and no means of support during a power outage or flood. As mayor I would create a system in which all willing and competent adults in the community would be paired with an elderly citizen nearby for whom they will assume responsibility for. That responsibility includes calling if possible during the hurricane, checking up right after the storm, and making sure the senior has an evacuation route, mode of transportation, and enough supplies to last during a power outage. By establishing an organized buddy-system, many lives could be saved and our senior citizens will be much more secure knowing they have someone looking out for them.

While there are some stubborn patriots who refuse to abandon their homes, if it was certain that the storm was extremely dangerous I would order an evacuation immediately. All routes will be cleared so the evacuation will go as neatly and calmly as possible. This would also include supplying gas stations with generators so that even in a blackout, gas would still be supplied. My office will guarantee emergency bus routes to collect all those who do not own cars and have no other means of evacuating. These buses would stop in poorer neighborhoods, trailer parks, side streets, and even homeless shelters to make sure that all get out.

The heart of the community is its people, so the people must come first no matter what the situation. If the people panic there will be chaos, and all will soon be lost as we have seen in the past. The seniors are all alone and helpless- if the community does not reach out to them who will? This is so also with people living in trailer parks and shelters. As a community we must secure the safety of all our citizens and work together fighting back at Mother Nature.