This September marks the five-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma.

The Category 4 hurricane caused some of the worst storm damage and destruction Lake County has seen in recent history. 

The 2022 hurricane season here and experts predict an above-average season for storm. And while Irma is in the rear-view mirror, its lessons endure. 

"We are always learning from our prior activations and we have definitely taken lessons learned from Irma," Megan Milanese, Director of The Lake County Office of Emergency Management, said. 

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Hurricane Irma tore through Lake County in September of 2017, causing widespread damage across roads, homes, businesses. It left 90,000 people without power. 

The storm originally hit the shore south of Tampa and veered east, landing directly on Lake County. By the time the storm fell over the area, the maximum sustained winds ranged from 65-75 mph. Locally, the highest sustained winds from Irma were recorded at 76 mph.

“It’s good to understand that even though Irma was a major hurricane that made landfall in Florida, our community Lake County never actually experienced those major hurricane force winds while the storm was over our county," Milanese said.

In total, 4,600 people and 527 pets needed to take refuge at shelters in Lake County. Three of the shelters lost power — and the backup generator at the shelter at Umatilla Elementary School also failed.

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There where 20 people at that shelter with special needs that almost needed to be evacuated because they depended on electricity to operate their oxygen machines.

Other damage included roads being blocked off due to fallen oak trees and flooding across the county. One well known location that experienced extensive damage was The Umatilla Inn, where half of the building was destroyed from high storm winds.

"For those who remember Irma and have lived here long enough to see the damage and destruction that Irma caused in our community, it’s important to remember that if a more powerful storm were to come by, it would cause even more damage," Milanese said.

Since Hurricane Irma is one of the strongest storms that has recently impacted Lake County, it was a learning experience for Lake County's Emergency Management Department.

The storm shaped the way the emergency management department's systems are run. Since Irma, the department has changed some of its operational items. 

"We replaced some internal systems with some software that’s more streamlined and easy to use so we can communicate more in real-time,"  Milanese said.

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She said that with this new software, the department is able to real-time map events and be keep up with resource needs. In addition to these changes, the department has also increased training for their staff and partners.

"We’re really just focused on continuing to build our prior capabilities," Milanese said. 

This year, the department is also planning to conduct a hurricane exercise that will simulate a full activation of their emergency operation center for their major hurricane response and recovery. This exercise will allow them to practice any of the operational aspects related to hurricane response to ensure that they are prepared for any storms that could hit Lake County.

"Hurricane Irma really underscored how important it is to be prepared each hurricane season and to take getting ready seriously," Milanese said.