Editorial: Ian spared us, but our neighbors need help and there are lessons to be learned
We dodged a bullet.
Thankfully, Hurricane Ian's powerful Category 4 winds and rain only brushed Palm Beach last week as it left a path of destruction from Southwest Florida through Central Florida, and to the northeast corner of the state.
From there, it headed into the Atlantic Ocean, only to twist back toward South Carolina.
Aside from a western Delray Beach community, Kings Point, which was hit by a tornado, most of the damage in the county amounted to fallen tree limbs and some minor standing water. That is in sharp contrast to the cities across Southwest Florida, where buildings crumbled from the rampage brought onshore by Ian's 155-mph winds, and rainfall and record-setting storm surge caused extensive flooding.
"We got a pass on this one," Town Manager Kirk Blouin said.
The people on the west coast of Florida need our help. The Town of Palm Beach United Way has established a Hurricane Ian Recovery Fund, which was kick-started by a combined $50,000 donation from two couples.
Donations to the fund will be distributed to agencies providing immediate assistance, such as food, water and shelter.
“Hurricane Ian was a storm unlike any Southwest Florida has experienced in decades,” Bill Tiefel, who along with his wife Norma contributed part of the seed money for the United Way fund, said in a prepared statement. “Homes, businesses and infrastructure are destroyed. People are trapped; some without power and water. Anything the Palm Beach community can do to help our west coast neighbors is greatly appreciated.”
Former Deputy Town Manager Jay Boodheshwar, who recently left to become city manager in Naples, was happy to have some of his old island colleagues come to help.
One town engine with four people is joined six other engines from the county in Naples, while a town ambulance joined 10 other ambulances from the county in Fort Myers with a Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue Task Force team based in Miami.
"We have weeks of work ahead," Boodheshwar told the Daily News, "and I appreciate everyone who has reached out to me. I had a lot of friends in Palm Beach reaching out."
Although topographical conditions offshore contributed to Ian's unprecedented storm surge, the destruction should remind all of us in Palm Beach that the threat from a major hurricane isn't just limited to high winds. Flooding can be just as destructive — or even more so. That's especially important for those who choose to weather hurricanes in their homes, even through they may lie in an evacuation zone.
We were lucky this time, but we all know hurricanes such as Ian will keep on coming. Let us not forget the lessons we just learned.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Editorial: Hurricane Ian spared Palm Beach; our neighbors need help
