By VALERIE KALFRIN
The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA - From afar, the scene in an East Hillsborough Avenue industrial park Thursday morning looked like a bizarre picnic: blank tables lined up in rows, with motorists stopping at each as workers loaded imaginary supplies into their trunks.

In reality, this was the county’s first chance to practice operating a distribution center for relief supplies. The drill was one of two hurricane-preparation efforts in the county Thursday. There was also a push to implant dogs and cats with identifying microchips.

If Hillsborough County suffered a direct hit from a hurricane or extensive hurricane damage, the county would establish “Points of Distribution” throughout 16 zones, said Holley Wade, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center. These would be in place for about 10 to 15 days, until more stable measures were established.

These PODs can serve up to 10,000 vehicles per day, or about 280 per hour, Wade said. Under state and federal guidelines, each individual initially would receive a day’s supplies - a gallon of water, 8 pounds of ice and two meals ready-to-eat - plus a tarp for shelter. A day’s worth of supplies issued to a family of three would be a case of water, two or three bags of ice and six meals ready-to-eat. These guidelines are adjusted per family size; people revisit the POD daily to restock.

The distribution point also likely would have supplies for infants and, in some areas, livestock, Wade said. Workers plan to establish transportation to these sites in areas where many people don’t drive, she said.

The interaction at these sites gives workers a chance to assess if people have emotional, health or stress needs, or if there’s a crisis in a neighborhood that needs attention. “If we’ve got the people driving through, we can hear what’s happening. It’s more eyes and ears in the community,” Wade said.

One worker posing as a disaster victim was Marti Ryan, a spokeswoman for Hillsborough County Animal Services, who drove through the supply line with Buddy, a stuffed dog implanted with a microchip for demonstrations.

Ryan participated in the drill before heading to a demonstration at the humane society advocating that pets be implanted with an identifying microchip. About the size of a grain of rice, a microchip is encoded with a number that can be read with a handheld scanner to find a pet’s owner. Unlike a collar, it won’t get lost in a disaster, she said.

Hillsborough County Animal Services saw the value of microchips following Hurricane Charley in 2004, when the set up a makeshift shelter in Polk County to gather lost pets. Out of nearly 400 dogs found, only about four had microchips, Ryan said.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800.

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