Tampa hospital prepares for possible record storm surge with Hurricane Milton

(TAMPA, Fla.) — Tampa General Hospital put its flood barrier to the test during Hurricane Helene late last month, helping protect the facility from record storm surge.

As Hurricane Milton is expected to bring record-breaking storm surge yet again to the region, the hospital — located on the bay near downtown Tampa — is surrounded by the water-impermeable barrier once more.

Milton is expected to make landfall Wednesday night near Sarasota, south of Tampa, as a Category 3 hurricane. The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay warned on Monday that Milton could be the “worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years.”

While several health care facilities are suspending service due to Milton, Tampa General Hospital, the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, is preparing to continue normal operations.

The hospital said it has several mitigation measures in place for the storm, including its barrier, made by the company AquaFence. The fence is built to withstand storm surge up to 15 feet above sea level, the hospital said.

Peak storm surge in the Tampa Bay area topped six feet during Helene, which set a new record. The flood barrier “worked effectively to prevent the storm surge from flooding” the main campus, the hospital said in the wake of Helene.

Milton could bring a record-breaking storm surge to the Tampa Bay area. Six to nine feet of storm surge is forecast for the Tampa Bay area.

The hospital said Tuesday it had completed assembly of its flood barrier ahead of Milton “to protect vulnerable areas of the campus against storm surge and flooding.”

“While AquaFence has proven effective in the past, it is just the first line of defense and one of many mitigation efforts we’ve implemented this week to safely continue care for our patients,” Jennifer Crabtree, chief of staff at Tampa General, said in a statement to ABC Orlando affiliate WFTV.

Other measures to help sustain hospital operations during the storm include an on-site water source, in the event that water service is disrupted, and an on-site energy plant located 33 feet above sea level that is built to withstand the impact and flooding of a Category 5 hurricane, the hospital said. The hospital said it has also stocked up on more than five days of supplies, including food and linens, and more than 5,000 gallons of water.

Tampa Bay, and many areas across the surrounding peninsula, are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes since these regions have not been hit with a major hurricane in decades.

Hospital systems in the region have invested in flood mitigation, hardening their facilities and moving electrical equipment to levels to protect against flooding, according to Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.

“Flooding is such a huge concern,” Mayhew told ABC News. “And now, on the heels of Helene, where we have debris that is, strewn up and down the Gulf Coast, drains are plugged, they’re filled with sand.”