'It's going to be a mess' — fighting a storm surge with sandbags tarps and absorbent booms (original) (raw)
Published October 9, 2024 at 6:00 AM EDT
Along I-4 east, north and south on I-75 and on countless highways and roads, Floridians are trying to get out of the path of Hurricane Milton. It is the largest evacuation effort since Hurricane Irma engulfed the entire peninsula in 2017.
Over 1 million people live in evacuation areas. From the sparsely populated Levy County south through St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota to Collier County, emergency management officials have ordered residents living on or near the Gulf Coast to leave.
As people move to avoid the worst of the storm, Florida's transportation infrastructure — its roadways, bridges and airports — remain behind to take what could be a historic battering from a major hurricane and significant storm surge.
READ MORE: NOAA announces plans to spend $15.3 million for a national climate forecasting service
"We've got to prepare our infrastructure to be more resilient for the future," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "We can't just replace and maintain everything the exact way it's always been and expected to be ready for what's coming."
Tony Winton
/
Key Biscayne Independent
FILE: U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks with the Rickenbacker Causeway behind him during a visit to the Port of Miami Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.
Milton is the second major hurricane in as many weeks to undergo rapid intensification over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Helene moved north out of the Caribbean Sea to hit the Big Bend region as a Category 4. Some preliminary estimates indicate Helene broke records in several locations from the Hillsborough River in Tampa to Port Manatee.
The storm surge forecast for Milton threatens to be more devastating because the storm is expected to cause higher water in more populated areas than was forecast for Helene.
The National Hurricane Center warns of a storm surge 10-15 feet from south of Sarasota through Tampa Bay to Tarpon Springs. The area includes Tampa International Airport.
We've got to prepare our infrastructure to be more resilient for the future.
U.S. Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg
The airport's official elevation is 26 feet. A corner of the airport's property borders Tampa Bay. One runway sits just 10.7 feet above sea level.
The airport closed Tuesday morning in anticipation of the storm. Among its preparations are deploying flood protections, "very similar to what people use for homes by on a grander scale," said airport Director of Communications Emily Nipps.
The airport likely will experience flooding. A storm surge of three to four feet floods roadways and runways. The forecast is for a storm surge close to four times that.
"The focus will be getting operations back up as quickly as we can do in a safe fashion," Buttigieg said in an interview with WLRN. But the speed of a return to flight will depend upon the severity of the flooding and any damage it may leave behind.
"If we get a Category 3, it's going to come up to the buildings," said Albert Slap, president of RiskFootprint, in Boca Raton. "It's going to probably go into at least the ground floor of terminal buildings. It's going to be a mess," he said.
About 24 million passengers fly in and out of the Tampa airport each year, making it the 26th busiest in the nation. Southwest, Delta and American Airlines combine for more than half the commercial passenger traffic.
Slap's analysis of a Category 3 storm would send floodwaters well into the airport's property, covering the southwest section under Tampa Bay.
"The exposure is extremely high," Slap said.
courtesy: RiskFootpring
An analysis by RiskFootprint of Tampa International Airport's risk to storm surge.
The airport said there isn't much it can do to protect itself from such a powerful storm. "Unfortunately, there are no feasible solutions to create dams or walls around our 3,300-acre campus and airfield, particularly on the south side closest to the Bay," said Nipps.
Slap mentioned two strategies used by some property owners – tiger dams and AquaFences. Tiger dams are large tubes that fill with water. They fight floodwater with water by creating a barrier without needed heavy equipment.
A temporary flood wall named after its manufacturer, AquaFence, was used by Tampa General Hospital during Hurricane Helene. It's capable of holding back up to 15 feet of floodwaters, easily handling Helene's storm surge in Tampa.
The Tampa airport saw flooding from Helene, but it receded quickly and was back open for the flying public within one day.
Milton may be different.
READ MORE: What to put in a hurricane emergency supply kit
Reopening after the storm may "only mean up and running for supporting emergency operations," said Buttigieg. "Then eventually be able to get back to normal for commercial operations."
The airport is using sandbags, tarp, caulk and plastic sheeting around its facility. It also uses absorbent booms at doorways and openings to soak up encroaching flooding.
"We're getting more and more bad storms and there's no reason to believe from the climate science that that's somehow that genie is going to go back into the bottle," Slap said.
Making airports more resilient will take "a combination of policy and funding," said Buttigieg. "We're going to continue working on that for the long term, even as we're working in the immediate terms to make sure these airport authorities get the support they need to get through the week."