Disaster Planners Focus Anew on Lake Okeechobee, Miami area

Disaster planners will use $4 million in federal money to map out preparations for two catastrophic Florida hurricane scenarios: the failure of the dike around Lake Okeechobee and the impact of a powerful Category 5 storm in the Miami area.

“Florida is the most vulnerable state in the country for large hurricanes,” said David Paulison, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Paulison told reporters at the National Hurricane Center that airborne lasers will be used to create maps around Lake Okeechobee to provide a more accurate picture of where flooding might occur and how fast the water might rise.

That, in turn, will be used by state and local planners to determine which areas to evacuate and how to provide recovery resources if a breach of the 143-mile Herbert Hoover Dike appears likely in the future, he said. About 45,000 people live in floodprone areas around the lake.

A report released in May said the dike has eroded from age and past storms and is in imminent danger of failing in another hurricane. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this month said it created a new plan to shore up the earthen barrier.

Disaster planners also will develop new evacuation and recovery plans for the possibility of a major hurricane striking in Miami-Dade County, the state’s most populous. This plan would include how and where to house people who might be displaced for long periods after the storm.

“Florida will continue to grow. The threats we face will continue to evolve,” said Craig Fugate, director of the state Division of Emergency Management.