First came Charley.  Then, in perfect sequence, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne hit land.

The hurricanes that slammed into the Sunshine state last August and September sent entire communities scrambling, first for shelter, and then to deal with the destruction left behind.  But, for the Florida Department of Corrections, the month-and-a-half long beating by Mother Nature, proved to be a shining example of the agency's ability to stand tall during a prolonged crisis situation.

"It was a long and protracted battle," said Randy Agerton, a Correctional Services Consultant with the Florida DOC.  "[But we were] as prepared as we possibly could be."

According to the DOC, the four hurricanes resulted in the evacuation of over 13,000 inmates and caused damage to dozens of prisons and community corrections facilities.  But, being prepared ahead of time was key to weathering the storms, Agerton said.

"We have established hurricane plans and emergency procedures in place and they were really tested during the storms," said Agerton.  "The amount of preparation we put into place during the run-up to the storms is really what helped us out a lot [to] not be a burden on other state agencies."

Agerton explained that there are both regular practices the DOC engages in to prepare for an emergency situation and those that are put into motion when crises hit.

As part of its normal routine, the DOC makes sure its facilities have adequate supplies and food, fueled vehicles and working generators.

"These are things that we actually do on a continuous basis," Agerton said.  "That is part of daily operations."

When word of a hurricane or another emergency spreads, however, the agency's emergency management operation comes alive.

According to Agerton, a 2003 hurricane and the flurry of phones calls and faxes regarding contingency plans it generated led the department to develop a web-based emergency management application to connect key decision-makers during an emergency event. 

The system, which was born in the spring of 2004, pulls together real-time weather data and pertinent information about each DOC facility, including emergency plans, inmate counts and threat assessments, Agerton said.

"We are able to look at a snapshot of each of our places [and] make plans accordingly," said Agerton. 

Additionally, the application has a real-time incident log, to allow DOC management to keep track of what activities are taking place, he said.  Agerton added that directives can be communicated through the system, as well.

"We really used [the emergency management application] extensively during the hurricanes," said Agerton.  "It allowed us, in real-time, to place instructions from central office executive staff that this institution is to be evacuated."

Agerton explained that, via the system, the institution can then pass information back to central office about whatever resources it needs to execute that order.

While the DOC kickstarted the emergency management application during the hurricanes, the storms also prompted the department to mobilize its newly developed strike teams. 

According to Agerton, Hurricane Charley was the first incident during which these strike teams were deployed.  He said each facility was asked to identify five officers, who could be sent anywhere in the state to supplement security staff in the event of severe damage to a facility or the loss of a perimeter. 

While no facilities experienced damage to that extent, the DOC used the strike teams to support security personnel at institutions that were being evacuated and those facilities that were receiving inmates. 

"It definitely helped the sending institution and the receiving institution," Agerton said. 

While some inmates were evacuated to other facilities during the hurricanes, others were enlisted to lend a hand in the clean up effort.

According to the DOC, inmates pitched in, filling sand bags, unloading and distributing supplies, cleaning roadways and removing debris, for a total of almost 97,000 work hours.  These inmates were working in addition to the department's regular work squads.

"[We had] already identified inmates that have the right custody [level] and skills to be put out into the community," said Agerton.

Those inmates, who hailed from a variety of institutions, came with equipment and staff from their respective facilities to supervise them, which worked well in terms of security, said Agerton.

While Agerton believes that the DOC handled last year's hurricanes well, there is still room for improvement during the next emergency, he said.

Since 2004, the incident log in the emergency management application has since been enhanced, he said.

"The incident log was really basic and we have added to that and increased its functionality so that we can manage tasks and resources more effectively, without having spreadsheets and separate documents on what we are doing and how we are managing things," Agerton said.

For other agencies that might someday face a similar type of crisis situation, he said the pre-deployment of staff and resources is essential.  Having some mechanism to keep everyone in the same loop is equally important, he said.

"If it's not an application, have some way to readily bring together all of the information that your decision makers need to have and be able to bring it into one place where it's accurate and timely," Agerton said.

But Department of Corrections Public Affairs Director Robby Cunningham says the best piece of advice is to be ready for anything.

"Expect the unexpected," Cunningham said.  "Last year caught everyone off guard."