Reopening Ports Critical to Recovery Efforts Susan Jackson
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District has a unique mission-set as three-quarters of its area of responsibility (AOR) is surrounded by water. The state of Florida, geographically speaking, juts like a finger into the Atlantic and Gulf coast waters, while the Antilles, which includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are completely surrounded by water. This uniqueness is both a blessing and burden, as the AOR is subject to devastating storm events. The secret to response and recovery following these storms is quickly opening major harbors. Jacksonville District’s navigation mission in Florida
alone covers 27 federal harbors with an additional five in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of these, 17 are deep-draft and essential to relief and recovery efforts. During the 2017 North Atlantic hurricane season, three tropical storms and four hurricanes made landfall in the U.S. Two hurricanes wreaked havoc across the District’s AOR and sunk thousands of tons of debris into harbors and channels. Hurricane Irma reached maximum sustained winds of 185 mph, tying as the second most intense hurricane on record for the basin according to NOAA.
Tons of debris were removed from Key West Harbor, where the nearby Naval Air Station and Coast Guard Sector Key West are collocated. The military’s defense mission made this harbor a national priority. Photo: Andrew Kornacki 18
