BACKGROUND
On January 25, 2016, the Office of the Governor of the State of Florida declared a public health emergency in Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Lee, and Santa Rosa counties.
On January 26, 2016, Miami-Dade County Emergency Operation Center issued Flash Report #1 on Zika Virus – Monitoring the Virus.
In light of the recent Zika cases reported in Miami-Dade County there have been increased questions and concerns from our residents. The City of North Miami Beach is taking precautionary measures to address this issue and we wanted to update you on our proactive efforts and operational responses to the Zika Virus.
City’s Immediate Response
Immediately after the Governor and Miami-Dade County declared an emergency, City staff met to discuss and develop an operational plan in response to initial Zika reports. Code Compliance and Public Works prioritized standing water complaints and thoroughly inspected streets, alleys, and public right of ways. The following proactive measures were taken by our City departments with regard to mosquito awareness and prevention:
Code Compliance Department focused on the identification and removal of standing water throughout the City. Any standing water found to be in place for more than 24 hours was removed to the extent possible. Code Compliance Officers monitored, identified and reported potential mosquito breeding areas in vacant properties, residential and commercial construction sites.
Public Works Department commenced cleaning all storm drain structures as part of its annual maintenance program. This assisted in draining any standing water. Additionally the NMB Beautification Teams collected and disposed of cans, tires, and other debris citywide. The NMB Teams were trained and tasked with continuous removal of objects of this nature in the City right of way.
Public Utilities Department began taking the following proactive steps at all of our facilities located both inside the City of North Miami Beach and in other served communities:
· Standing water was removed to the greatest extent
possible
· Materials creating potential standing-water conditions, e.g.,
tires, open containers, pots and other debris near facilities
were removed
· Treatments have been applied to prevent mosquito larvae
development in areas where standing water is likely to occur
following rain events
In early July, the City commenced a public education campaign utilizing our Code Compliance, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Police Department, and social media to engage and educate our residents. Door hangars were distributed door-to-door to single family, multi-family, and commercial properties where potential breeding areas were located. Posters and flyers with information from Florida Department of Health were posted throughout City facilities, including City Library and community centers.
To minimize mosquitoes in our City, the City will continue its collaboration with the Miami-Dade Department of Health, Miami-Dade Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade Mosquito Control. We recommend our residents visit the City’s webpage at http://www.citynmb.com/codecompliance and the Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control website at www.miamidade.gov/mosquitoes for informational tools and preventive measures.
Our current mitigation focus is on reducing mosquitoes by promoting and educating our residents on Drain and Cover Initiative. We need your help to get the information out to everyone in our community. Drain and Cover flyers are available in English, Spanish, and Creole on the City’s website http://www.citynmb.com/codecompliance and at the Code Compliance Division located at 17050 NE 19th Avenue. |