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From YouTube: Discovering Pinellas: Hurricane Myths vs Facts
Description
In this episode of Discovering Pinellas, we get the facts about hurricanes from meteorologist Denis Phillips along with a local historian and emergency management expert, and address the myth that Pinellas County has special protection from major storms.
A
If
the
big
one
hits
Tampa
Bay
this
hurricane
season,
are
you
prepared?
We've
had
our
share
of
close
calls
recently,
but
with
no
Direct
Hit
in
more
than
100
years,
many
people
have
come
to
embrace
an
appealing
myth
that
hurricanes
always
miss
our
area.
How
safe
are
we
from
major
hurricanes
here
in
Pinellas
County,
and
what
can
we
do
to
protect
ourselves
and
our
families
in
this
episode
of
discovering
Pinellas
we'll
talk
to
one
of
Tampa
Bay's,
most
experienced
meteorologists,
as
well
as
a
local
historian
and
Emergency
Management
expert
to
get
answers
to
those
questions?
A
Everyone
loves
a
comforting
story.
Some
people
say
an
ancient
blessing
from
previous
inhabitants
is
shielding
our
water
from
major
hurricanes.
Others
speculate
that
the
Bay's
landscape
and
climate
somehow
repel
large
storms.
In
the
past
20
years,
local
officials
have
ordered
evacuations
three
times
and
three
times
we've
narrowly
missed
catastrophe.
A
Many
of
our
neighbors
haven't
been
so
lucky
ABC
Action,
News,
chief
meteorologist
Dennis
Phillips,
has
watched
the
weather
for
three
decades
I'm
going
to
ask
him
if
there's
any
scientific
explanation
for
Tampa
Bay's
long
lucky
streak,
since
we
haven't
had
a
direct
hit
in
100
years.
You
know
people
have
a
lot
of
different
theories
about
the
Tampa
Bay
area,
maybe
having
a
special
protection
or
hurricanes
never
reaching
this
area.
What's
your
take
on
that.
B
B
B
Biggest
concern
for
the
Bay
Area
is
a
storm
coming
in
from
the
Gulf
of
Mexico,
and
a
hurricane
that
comes
in
from
the
south
is
always
going
to
have
to
make
a
pretty
hard
right
turn
to
impact
us
directly.
Imagine
it
this
way
if
you
have
a
car
and
you
have
your
steering
wheel
and
you
just
turn
that
steering
wheel
just
a
little
bit,
you
know
maybe
100
feet
down.
The
road
you've
only
moved
a
bit,
but
five
miles
down
the
road
you
could
be
in
the
Gulf
of
Mexico.
B
So
just
a
subtle
change
in
that
track,
maybe
down
by
Cuba
or
the
Yucatan,
could
end
up
having
a
300
mile
swing
in
the
ultimate
landfall
of
this
storm
300
miles.
That's
the
panhandle
of
South
Florida,
so
forecasting
a
hurricane
with
a
hard
turn
from
the
south
is
almost
impossible
and
honestly
I'm,
not
even
sure
we'll
ever
be
able
to
do
it.
So
when
you
look
at
a
threat
for
the
West
Coast
of
Florida,
almost
always
it
really
is
the
entire
West
Coast
of
Florida.
A
It's
easy
to
forget
this
reality.
A
lot
has
changed
here
since
Pinellas
County
last
experienced
a
direct
hit,
the
last
major
hurricane
to
hit
Tampa
Bay
directly
smash
through
our
Coast
just
a
few
miles
north
of
where
I'm
standing,
but
back
then
there
was
no
wall
of
hotels
rising
up
from
this
beach.
In
fact,
today,
there's
nearly
the
same
number
of
people
living
in
just
Pinellas
County,
as
there
was
in
the
entire
State
of
Florida
a
hundred
years
ago.
A
C
A
C
Pinellas
County
was
very
sparsely
populated
and
developed.
Most
of
the
settlements
were
along
the
coast
and
when
the
the
storm
surge
came
in
and
the
the
very
fast
winds
it
was
devastating
to
the
area
they
lost.
50
percent
of
their
Citrus
crop,
something
like
800
000
boxes
of
citrus.
It
did
10
million
dollars
in
damage
and
1921,
which
would
be
about
140
million
dollars
today
equivalent
and
it
actually
killed.
Eight
people.
C
The
county,
so
if
you
look
back
in
Pinellas
population
in
1920,
it
was
about
28,
000
people
and
compare
that
to
today,
where
there's
nearly
a
million
people,
the
the
damage
would
be
catastrophic.
You
can
really
look
back
last
year
at
Hurricane
Ian
and
what
that
did
to
Lee
and
Charlotte
counties
and
just
imagine
a
county
that
has
almost
a
million
people
in
it.
That
would
be
utterly
devastating
to
us.
You.
A
C
So
this
is
actually
a
relatively
new
urban
legend
that
states
that
the
indigenous
people
that
were
here
before
us
somehow
struck
a
deal,
or
maybe
some
kind
of
mystical
bargain
to
protect
the
area
from
hurricanes
and,
as
we
can
see
through
history,
it's
just
not
true.
We've
had
an
1848
hurricane
hit,
the
area
in
1921
hurricane
and
even
a
minor
hurricane
in
1946.
So
while
it's
comforting,
it's
just
not
true.
A
As
Tampa
Bay
watched,
hurricane
Irma
turn
towards
Florida
in
September
2017
traffic,
backed
up
for
hundreds
of
miles
on
interstate
highways
as
hundreds
of
thousands
evacuated
from
our
Coastal
communities,
but
after
that
storm
just
barely
brushed
our
Peninsula.
Five
years
later,
as
hurricane
Ian
was
heading
towards
Pinellas,
County
The
public's
response
was
far
less
serious,
with
fewer
people
checking
in
the
shelters
and
less
traffic
on
the
roads.
A
Pinellas
County
kept
a
close
eye
on
the
Storm
urging
residents
to
prepare,
as
he
and
tracked
toward
our
Peninsula
Emergency
Management
director
Kathy
Perkins
was
prepared
to
respond
to
the
big
ones.
If
Ian
made
landfall
in
Canalis,
she
worked
closely
with
County
officials
who
ultimately
issued
evacuations
for
a
large
portion
of
the
community
Kathy
the
day
after
the
storm
made
impact
south
of
us,
and
you
looked
at
all
the
damage
down
there.
What
what
did
you
tell
your
staff
about
what
could
have
happened
here
in
Pinellas.
D
Yeah,
so
somebody
told
me
that
we
dodged
a
bullet
and
I
really
said
we
dodged
a
bomb.
If
you
look
the
level
of
Devastation
that
was
down
there,
it
was
catastrophic.
A
lot
of
lives
lost
a
lot
of
structures,
destroyed
access
to
the
beaches
taken
out
with
the
storm
surge.
So
that's
the
type
of
thing
that
we
are
preparing
for.
We
could
have
seen
that
10
to
15
feet
of
storm
surge
coming
in.
You
saw
buildings
in
the
coastal
areas
getting
wiped
off
of
their
Foundation.
D
You
saw
a
surge
going
Inland
for
up
to
15
miles.
People
that
lived
along
waterways
actually
saw
water
up
to
eight
feet,
getting
pushed
in
24
miles,
Inland
that
could
have
been
us.
You
know
it
was
a
20
mile
shift
as
the
storm
came
off
of
the
coast
of
Cuba.
That
was
the
difference
between
them.
Getting
us
to
our
South
and
us
getting
it.
A
D
Storm
surge
is
coming
in
is
life-threatening
and
that's
the
reason
that
we're
moving
people
out
of
Harm's
Way,
We
Tell
them
from
to
run
from
the
water
and
hide
from
the
wind.
We
want
people
to
move
outside
of
those
evacuation
zones
when
that
storm
surge
water
starts
coming
in
you're,
not
going
to
be
able
to
stop
it,
and
unfortunately,
we
saw
over
50
people
in
Florida
lost
their
lives
to
Drowning
during
Hurricane
Ian.
What.
D
So
I
need
everybody
to
make
a
plan,
so
the
first
thing
you
have
to
do
is
you
have
to
assess
what
your
potential
risk
is.
Do
you
live
in
an
evacuation
Zone?
How
sturdy
is
your
house?
Perhaps
you
have
special
needs
or
a
loved
one.
That's
on
some
type
of
life-sustaining
medical
equipment
that
requires
electricity.
Maybe
you
live
in
a
mobile
or
a
manufactured
home.
That's
vulnerable
to
wins!
Those
are
all
the
things
that
you
need
to
consider.
So
that
way,
you
know
what
you
can
plan
for.
D
A
Living
in
a
coastal
Paradise
comes
with
risks
that
we're
tempted
to
downplay
or
ignore,
but
the
evidence
is
clear:
there
are
no
Supernatural
or
Environmental
Protections
that
will
always
defend
Tampa
Bay
from
a
hurricane.
There
is
plenty
we
can
do
to
protect
ourselves.
Let's
all
take
special
care
to
prepare
this
storm
season.
It
could
save
your
life
or
someone.
You
love
thanks
for
joining
me.
Thank
you.