Pasco County Emergency Management staff members are back home after helping Nassau County respond to Hurricane Matthew.
As Hurricane Matthew neared Florida, residents prepared and county’s activated their emergency operation centers.
- Pasco Co. Emergency Management went to Nassau Co. for Matthew
- The mutual aid agreement connects the two counties
This year Pasco County constructed a mutual aide agreement with Nassau County.
“They were under a mandatory evacuation and the curfew was issued from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.," said emergency coordinator Leigh Cowan.
It came at a critical time, as a major hurricane approached less familiar territory.
“We experienced Hurricane Hermine, on that side they don't experience as many hurricanes or storms as much as we do," said Monica Santiago, also a emergency coordinator.
Just this year alone, Pasco County’s Emergency Operations had had five activations: for destructive winds in Dade City, spring tornadoes in Port Richey, Tropical Storm Collin, Hurricane Hermine, and Hurricane Matthew.
Although the geography is different in Nassau, it helped to have that knowledge, like doing damage assessments.
“They have small islands that are remote from them and they have to seclude and close down the bridges to those islands,” said Santiago. “So collecting that data once the bridges were open and making sure it was properly documented was something we played a key role in."
Three members from emergency management were in Nassau assisting for five days.