ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Emergency officials in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties said they learned lessons from Hurricane Ian and are already preparing for any potential future storms.
Emergency operations centers in those counties are still partially activated as they have crews in southwest Florida helping with aftermath efforts. They're taking this time to address those living in the Tampa Bay area.
The director for the Pinellas County Emergency Management said they experienced issues during the storm.
"We had some software issues. We had so many people looking up their zones so we had some website issues," Cathie Perkins said.
Officials are working to improve technology issues for when the next storm hits.
They also said residents need to prepare better.
"We didn’t see many people come in to shelters," Perkins said.
With mandatory evacuations ordered upon to protect people from Ian, Pinellas County officials were expecting shelters to house about 30,000 people. However, only 5,000 people checked into shelters.
"I understand it’s inconvenient and sometimes scary to leave your home, but we never want to be in a situation where we have to count deaths," Perkins said.
In Hillsborough County, officials said it’s a little early to know what lessons were learned and what needs to change, but they do know what worked.
New technology at intersections helped prevent crashes during the storm.
"We installed flashing red lights so the driver can see and know he is expected to stop," Engineering Manager for Hillsborough County Transportation Bob Campbell said.
The new technology is called power outage emergency beacons. They flash red and are powered by solar panels.
When the power goes out, there are 160 county maintained intersections still able to operate at some capacity.
The main message from Hillsborough County transportation officials is when you see a flashing red light, treat it like a stop sign.
The purpose, like storm preparations in Pinellas County, is to keep you safe.
"Saving lives and saving people from getting injured. It’s all about safety," Campbell said.
Those solar powered flashing lights are only in Hillsborough County.
Officials are working with the Florida Department of Transportation to get more power outage emergency beacons at other intersections.