After quickly gaining the strength of a Category 4 storm, Hurricane Michael reached the panhandle of Florida on Wednesday, October 10. With maximum sustained winds of 155 mph and storm surge reaching 15 feet, this storm wiped out coastal communities and closed ports to all traffic in the area. Dangerous winds and storm surge can shift sands and pull large objects beneath the waves, creating hazards to navigation. Before ports can reopen and safely resume vessel traffic, the U.S. Coast Guard must be aware of any underwater dangers so they can either be properly charted or removed.
As Hurricane Michael approached Florida, NOAA’s western Gulf Coast navigation manager, Tim Osborn, embedded with the Maritime Transportation System Recovery Unit (MTSRU) in Mobile, Alabama, to engage with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard on storm preparations and coordination of NOAA’s navigation response teams (NRT) if needed. The two nearby response teams remained response ready and rode out the storm at their respective home ports at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, and Fernandina Beach, Florida. NRTs are three-person crews with small vessels that are strategically located around the country and remain on call to respond to emergencies, speeding the resumption of shipping after storms, and protecting life and property from underwater dangers to navigation.
Once the storm passed through the panhandle, the teams departed their home ports with food, surplus fuel, and spare boat parts. NRT-Stennis deployed to Pensacola, Florida, with team members Alex Ligon, Joshua Bergeron, and Dan Jacobs (augmenting from NRT-Galveston, Texas) on October 11. The Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard MTSRU requested the Pensacola survey to ensure the port was open and available for vessels diverted from the storm. The team surveyed that afternoon and completed survey operations in Pensacola on October 13.
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