In Glades, lake's another big reason to fear storm
By Tony Doris, Dwayne Robinson
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 20, 2005
BELLE GLADE — In a drill more than three years ago, county emergency managers responded to a massive hurricane that elevated the waters of Lake Okeechobee and, eventually, caused a leak in its protective dike that placed some of the Glades area in chest-deep water.
Eerily, the mock hurricane in the statewide simulation was named Wilma. This weekend, they could meet the real thing.
But U.S. Army Corps of Engineers experts are not predicting such doomsday scenarios — although the dike girding Lake Okeechobee did spring leaks two years ago with the lake water lower than it is now. And although it's designed to handle a Category 3 hurricane, not a 160 mph, Category 5 menace such as Wilma.
But corps experts expressed confidence Wednesday, saying that should Wilma approach, the winds will weaken over land and the 140-mile-long Herbert Hoover Dike will withstand the onslaught. Jacob Davis, project engineer for the dike, said the storm would diminish by two categories, or about 40 mph, from the friction of passing over 30 miles of land before reaching the lake.
The official forecast by the National Hurricane Center, however, stated that the hurricane would not lose much strength while blowing over Florida.
Remembering the images of the flooding and disaster from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, some residents were not willing to roll the dice on this one.
"I think a lot of us are going to evacuate," said Arline Jackson, a Family Dollar employee. "You hear of people actually talking about leaving due to the lake. We sit on the water."
In a telephone news conference Wednesday, Davis and corps hydraulic engineer Susan Sylvester said the lake level is low enough that even a foot of rain won't put sufficient pressure on the dike to cause a breach. The lake was at 15.55 feet Wednesday, nearly a foot lower than normal for this time of year.
The dike ranges from 17 to 35 feet above that. Even if wind causes the surface of the 730-square-mile lake to tilt and slosh 10 feet higher, the "very massive" earthen levee will hold against the surge, she said. Computer models suggest that if there's storm surge from Lake Okeechobee, it will affect the western shore — welcome news for Pahokee and Belle Glade, said County Administrator Bob Weisman.
"The levee is considered sound," Weisman said. "There is no inherent reason to evacuate."
Belle Glade City Manager Houston Tate reiterated that message Wednesday, adding that unlike New Orleans, Belle Glade is not below sea level.
"We won't have a flooding problem," he said.
Nevertheless, Belle Glade officials and others are going to decide after a 1 p.m. meeting today whether to call for an evacuation of all or parts of the Glades area, Tate said.
At the top of a city priority list for possible evacuations was the marina, where about 100 people live, most of them in mobile homes, along the lake. He added that school buses and Palm Tran were in place, if necessary, to transport the invalid or indigent out of town.
Weisman said hospitals and nursing homes in the area should have their own hurricane plans — and the county is not responsible for evacuating such patients.
As for shelters, one will open at Lake Shore Middle School with another possibly opening at Glades Central High School, Tate said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Belle Glade did not seem like a town fearing a nasty hurricane; the traditional long lines at gas pumps had not yet formed. Several businesses, however, did report a spike in consumers stocking up on hurricane supplies, such as water, batteries and gas.
Many residents planned to ride the storm out, as they've done for years, but most of those interviewed said they would evacuate if they were told to.
Still, residents also said they relied foremost on their faith in God to bring them through Wilma's winds.
"Worry brings frustration. Worry brings panic," said one Belle Glade woman buying groceries at the Glades Plaza. "I think what we should do is just chill. Take one day at a time, watch the news and have a plan if it comes this way."
Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2005/10/20/c1b_glades_1020.html
