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After Irma: What Coral Gables is doing to Recover

The City of Coral Gables wants to keep you updated on the rescue/recovery plan around your neighborhood after Hurricane Irma. We are grateful that we did not feel the full impact that Florida's west coast received and thankful we're out of the cone of tropical storm winds. Our thoughts go out to our fellow Floridians to the south and west. We will offer our assistance as they rebuild.

Be aware that there are numerous downed power lines, trees and traffic lights throughout Coral Gables which may pose a risk and an inconvenience for you and your family. Some trees may continue to fall and downed lines may become death traps as power returns to the neighborhood. We ask for your patience. Please be careful!
Your safety is still a priority for us.

The Coral Gables recovery began last night at 8 p.m. when we immediately deployed our CG Police Officers in every part of Coral Gables.  Coral Gables is patrolling and providing visible omnipresence throughout the community. Police made arrests last night for an attempted burglary and curfew violations.

Four out of every five customers in Coral Gables don't have electricity as of this morning. FPL reports that recovery crews are in Miami-Dade to restore power, first to critical infrastructures, followed by facilities such as gas stations, grocery stores and schools.

After the storm, don't go exploring your neighborhood near standing water or near where power lines once were overhead. Most deaths post-storm occur because of contact with downed power lines camouflaged near debris or in standing water in contact with overhead or underground power lines. Be very cautious, particularly with your children. BE CAREFUL WITH DOWNED POWER LINES AS THEY MAY BE OBSTRUCTED BY TREES SO THEIR LOCATION WILL NOT BE SEEN. Stay inside if possible to avoid injuries during this time.

FPL restores P ower plants first; then Transmission lines that go from power plans to Substations serving thousands of people; then main Feeder lines that run along major roadways and to critical infrastructure facilities (like power plants, water plants, hospitals, public safety and government buildings, followed by schools and gas stations, etc.); then Lateral neighborhood lines that may serve hundreds of people; then Transformers that serve a group of homes or businesses; then Singles (your home or location). You need to have patience: the restoration may take days and sometimes longer. Contact FPL at 1-800-4OUTAGE if you need to.

If you have a non-emergency call related to the City such as city trees blocking your entrance (and not about your private trees), contact the Coral Gables Hotline at 305-460-5401. For emergencies, call 911.

The City of Coral Gables has nine Rescue Recon Teams working. They are performing an accurate damage assessment and basic street clearing service allowing emergency response in the affected areas. Last night, they were providing adequate response for life threatening situations and imminent hazards.  The team includes staff from Police, Fire, Development Services, and tree removal private contractor. Among the equipment available are four backhoes, nine wheel loaders, nine medium duty vehicles, three alternate vehicles, two flatbed trucks, two tandem trucks, and one visible road clearance MRAP vehicle.

A secondary mission of the Rescue Recon teams is to provide the minimal amount of debris removal that is needed to permit the entry of early arriving rescue units into area. The Rescue Recon Team will not be involved in cleanup operations as their mission is to clear (push) trees/debris from roadways allowing for emergency responses.

The Public Service Department is managing contracts with two separate vendors that assist with cleanup efforts in subsequent days (estimated time for the debris removal contractor to initiate cleanup efforts is 1 to 2 days).
 
It is essential that you do not combine household garbage with the debris pile. THIS WILL DELAY SERVICE IN YOUR AREA! Garbage must be placed inside trash cans only!  Otherwise you will invite rats and odor in your neighborhood and will only delay your pick up service. As soon as our Rescue Recon teams clear our roadways, we will announce when the regular garbage and trash collection service will resume to normal operations. We recognize how important this is for all of you and we plan to resume pick up operations as soon as possible.

Due to the potential for a large number of calls for service, fire calls may need to be prioritized.  Additionally, calls which may have been received during the storm will require the dispatch of units.  To ensure the highest possible level of service, calls will be prioritized as follows: PRIORITY 1:  Life threatening injuries and fires posing danger to a large number of persons. PRIORITY 2:  All other potentially life threatening incidents. PRIORITY 3:  Fires in structures reported as having been evacuated, serious injuries and/or illness.

Police Officers will monitor citywide traffic flow. If you must be on the road, treat every intersection as a four-way stop.

Coral Gables City Hall will reopen as soon as power is restored and the building has been confirmed safe. Shutters will remain on the building despite services inside, so our teams can get all buildings up and operational.

Think safety first. Be patient.

Your Public Safety team is responding and restoring services 
in the City of Coral Gables.


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