Posted September 22, 2017 12:02 am
By STUART KORFHAGE stuart.korfhage@staugustine.com
Gov. Scott tours hurricane damage in Vilano Beach
St. Augustine Record
Another year has brought another enduring image of the power of a hurricane in St. Johns County.
And for the second straight fall, it’s come to the attention of Gov. Rick Scott.
Last year after Hurricane Matthew, Scott visited downtown St. Augustine where images of serious flooding reached national media outlets as symbols of the storm’s destructive force.
This year, it was the image of the fallen house in Vilano Beach — just barely holding on to a tiny piece of sand dune to keep from falling into the ocean — that became the dominant picture to much of the country of Hurricane Irma’s effects, at least in North Florida.
It was that home in Vilano where Scott chose to get his first close inspection of the county’s damage in his visit Thursday. He also met county workers and politicians at the administration offices earlier in the morning. Later, he moved up State Road A1A where part of the highway was being repaired after suffering storm damage.
”Last year when we had Matthew just scrape our beaches, I took a tour all along the east coast, and our beaches were just scraped by Matthew,” Scott said. “The first stop we saw today, unfortunately, we saw a house that was completely lost. We saw another one that had lost part of its sand and was in trouble.
“Here’s the positive: We’re all going to work together to bring our beaches back, to save each and every one of these communities to make sure we have this evacuation route.”
Scott’s visit was part rallying cry for citizens to rebound and help each other during the recovery. And it was also part self promotion about what he and the state in general did to prepare for the latest storm and the ensuing response.
“The Department of Environmental Protection put out over 2,300 truckloads of sand to try to protect our beaches,” Scott said. “We know this is a very important part of our state, and we’re going to do everything we can to keep it nice.”
Also in attendance were county commissioners and representatives from St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach governments. State government officials included Sen. Travis Hutson, Rep. Cyndi Stevenson, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein and others.
Mostly, they spoke in general terms of how the state is improving its response after going through recent hurricanes.
“Let the lessons of this be applied to being better prepared for the next storm rather than being jaded for the next storm,” Putnam said.
Stevenson said she was happy the state has already allocated $13 million for the Vilano area to make it more resilient in hurricanes. She added that Vilano property owners also have the clearance to get permits to build new sea walls as long as applications are filed before Oct. 4.
“They have some certainty about what they can do to protect their home,” she said.
Both Stevenson and Hutson said they’ve been speaking with their constituents since the storm hit more than a week ago. That’s allowed them to find out what has gone right and what hasn’t during the recovery process.
“Constituents for the most part have been very, very happy,” Hutson said. “The more that have power, the less that are unhappy.
“We do have some serious flooding issues in Hastings still. Power’s been restored but we’re not recovering. It was much like Davis Shores last year. We have to go through the process.”
Even with the sight of many battered homes and piles of debris along S.R. A1A, those visiting with the governor were reminded that St. Johns County did not absorb the worst of this storm the way it did in Matthew.
The governor talked about the damage he’s seen in the Keys and around Naples and Immokalee. He also expressed concern over the state’s agriculture.
“It (damage) was different in all parts of the state,” Scott said. “In the Keys, … if you go about a little over 20 miles north of Key West for about 25 miles, it’s just shocking. There was 9 feet of storm surge on the beach side.
“Our citrus industry has really gotten hammered. They’re worried about losing an entire crop because there was so much flooding where they were.”
Edward Adelbert Slavin ·
To show his courtiers that he was not all-powerful, legend has it that King Canute ordered the sea to retreat. It did not retreat.
I was reminded of that story upon reading of notorious climate-change denier Richard Lynn Scott, Florida Governor, bragging about how much sand he was going to place in front of ocean-front homes, all while forbidding our government scientists to talk about global warming and global climate change. Scott is unready for federal office. He has no business running for U.S. Senate and lacks the necessary skill set to replace Senator Bill Nelson.
Scientists must be free to practice the scientific method without fear or favor. Their rights -- and ours -- must be protected and not neglected.
This was a photo-op, with local government officials serving as props and the reporter serving as an amenuensis. Also, why didn't the Record's "development" reporter use critical thinking skills and ask Scott questions about global warming and global ocean level rise?
I was reminded of that story upon reading of notorious climate-change denier Richard Lynn Scott, Florida Governor, bragging about how much sand he was going to place in front of ocean-front homes, all while forbidding our government scientists to talk about global warming and global climate change. Scott is unready for federal office. He has no business running for U.S. Senate and lacks the necessary skill set to replace Senator Bill Nelson.
Scientists must be free to practice the scientific method without fear or favor. Their rights -- and ours -- must be protected and not neglected.
This was a photo-op, with local government officials serving as props and the reporter serving as an amenuensis. Also, why didn't the Record's "development" reporter use critical thinking skills and ask Scott questions about global warming and global ocean level rise?
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