CAPTIVA NEWS
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Captiva
to become first "Storm Ready" certified barrier
island
By Maggie Crane
Captiva Island -
It was hit hard by Hurricane Charley, but now, Captiva
Island is on its way to becoming the nation's first barrier
island designated as "storm ready."
A government meteorologist
paid a visit to Captiva on Wednesday.
Not only would Captiva
be the first barrier island to become "storm ready,"
but it would be the first city in Lee County to get the
national seal of safety approval from NOAA, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It says just because
Captivans are storm ready, it doesn't mean they're storm
proof.
"Over 90 percent
of homeowners here aren't full-time residents, so they're
concerned about their friends and property when a hurricane
hits," Doris Holzheimer, Captiva homeowner, says.
Holzheimer knows
first hand. She escaped Hurricane Charley in 2004, but
some neighboring homes did not.
"We lost the
pool cage and lots of vegetation, but we were very lucky,"
Holzheimer says.
Holzheimer and other
Captiva homeowners don't want to be caught off guard again.
The group of volunteers want everyone to be storm ready
-- prepared, with a plan, to get off the island at the
first sign of severe weather.
"When you live
on a barrier island, you need to be better prepared because
it takes longer to evacuate," NOAA Meteorologist
Daniel Noah says. "Learn how evacuation is going
to work and what it is."
Noah is testing and
training Captivans to be storm ready.
"They're our
eyes and ears out there," Noah says of trained storm
spotters. "Communities with storm spotters are better
prepared than those without."
More than 30 volunteers
learn what it takes to spot storms, a step toward getting
the designation.
"There are only
two reasons we issue a warning -- what we see on radar
or what we hear from Skywarn spotters," Noah says.
Volunteers have also
created their own network, complete with a website for
the most up-to-date information in case of emergency.
In addition to the
Skywarn spotter training and the website to get information
out, Captivans also plan to use the fire district as a
24-hour warning and emergency operations center.
If Captiva receives
NOAA's "storm ready" designation, people there
may see a break in their flood insurance.
Captiva is expected
to become certified in about two weeks.
