GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The lights were dimmed inside the Emergency Operations Center; the televisions were off. Every seat was empty; the computers were darkened; and the room was deafeningly quiet. 

It was, quite frankly, the calm before the storm. 

Clay County Emergency Management Director Tim Devin sat in solitude, wondering how long the serenity would last. 

The hurricane season officially started on June 1, but Devin knows emergencies aren’t confined to cyclones. Three months earlier, it was record-freezing temperatures. A month ago, he spent two weeks in the southern part of the county dealing with a 4,796-acre wildfire. A week ago, his office was part of the response for Boater Skip Day. 

There are thunderstorms, possible tornadoes, chemical spills, terrorist attacks, floods, fires, large gatherings like the Fourth of July, the Clay County Agricultural Fair, and Labor and Christmas Day parades to watch. 

And, of course, Devin will be watching the tropics until October for the next hurricane. 

So, when should everyone get ready for the next storm? 

“From the emergency management standpoint, you should be ready year-round,” Devin said. 

Since emergencies are defined by a calendar, Devin said there are basics everyone should follow all the time to save time and be prepared. When minutes are precious, the last thing a resident should worry about is putting together a game plan. 

“I would take the opportunity now during the summer to get yourself ready, get your kits ready that you need,” he said. “What is your family plan going to be? Are you going to stay? Are you going to shelter in place? Do you live in a house where you can shelter in place, or is it too old, or is it a manufactured home that may not withstand the winds that are coming from the hurricane? 

“Or with us having the Black Creek, the St. Johns, Doctors Inlet and a lot of low-lying areas, we're prone to flooding in this area. Do you even live in a flood zone that you might need to evacuate?” 

Colorado State University, which is considered one of the leading forecasters of hurricanes for the Atlantic basin, expects a slightly below-normal season for moderately/strong storms because of La Niña conditions that should affect sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. Colorado State is expecting 13 storms, while the average number of storms between 1991-2020 was 14.4. 

But Devin said, “the word normal does not fit in a hurricane season.” 

“So, this is an interesting thing: both Hurricane Andrew and Idalia were in El Niño years, and they had tremendous impacts on South Florida for Andrew and the Panhandle for Idalia. 

“They’re only factoring maybe one-to-three [storms] this year, where the past two years, there have been three-to-five or even four-to-seven.” 

And the last hurricane to hit Clay County was Dora in 1964. It was a Category 2 storm in St. Johns County, but it downgraded to a Cat 1 storm by the time it crossed the St. Johns River and entered Clay County. 

The costliest storm was Irma, and it was barely a Tropical Storm in 2017. It was a rainmaker that dumped 14 inches of rain and chased 900 residents to five emergency shelters. At least 450 homes were heavily damaged or destroyed, and flood waters capped at a record 28.5 feet along both branches of Black Creek. 

According to Devin, here’s how to be prepared for the next emergency: 

• Create a family plan, so if members are separated, everyone knows where to meet and how to communicate with each other.

• Create a folder with at least three days of cash to feed your family and purchase gasoline or pay for a hotel, include all important paperwork like animal vaccination records if you’re going to a shelter, legal identification, proof of residency and a list of emergency contacts.

• Go to claycountygov.com/community/emergency-management and learn your evacuation and flood zones.

• Make sure you have enough clean water, medication, food (which includes ability to open canned good with manual can openers), a first aid kit, fresh batteries, flashlights and radios to last for at least three days.

• If you have a generator, test it monthly. When it becomes necessary to use it, only operate it outside.

• Check on your insurance policy. “What kind of insurance do you have? Is it enough? You got the insurance policy 20 years ago when your house happened to be $100,000," Devin said, “but now to replace that house, it's probably $300,000. So, do you have enough insurance to replace your house?” 

• Keep your property free of debris by trimming trees, removing loose branches and other items that can be dislodged and thrown by the wind. Devin also said to keep your gutters cleared, remove items hung on outside walls, plan to store outside furniture [if you have a pool and you don’t have a place to store chairs and tables, throw them in the pool], put away garbage cans and children’s toys. 

• Have a plan for animals. If you’re taking your pets with you, take their immunization paperwork. Decide in advance to care for livestock, making sure they are out of harm’s way with plenty of food and water.

• Plan to move trailers, RVs and boats, or at the very least, plan to secure them. If you tie down a boat and the water rises, at some point if the rope becomes too taut, the boat will sink.

• Keep your vehicle’s gas tank and propane tanks filled.

• Sign up for Alert Clay to receive immediate text messages at claycountygov.com/community/emergency-management and to SaferWatch alerts from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office at claysheriff.com/personal-safety/saferwatch to stay informed.

• Most importantly, stay informed and follow instructions. 

“If you have to evacuate, just go,” Devin said. “It's not just yourself. It's your family. It's your elderly family members that you may have. It's your kids.” 

It’s also the law enforcement officers and fire rescue personnel who risk their lives to save you. 

Devin knows that complacency is a challenge. He’d rather prepare for the worse and pray for the best. 

“I want to be wrong zero times,” he said. 

That way he gets to turn off the only light in the EOC, and everyone gets to go home to enjoy another quiet night.

Until ...