When a hurricane makes Florida landfall, three things happen in the first 72 hours that determine whether your hauling fleet gets to work or sits idle. The fleets that have a playbook in advance get rolling fast. The fleets that try to figure it out as they go get left behind.
This post is for trucking company owners, dispatch managers, and project superintendents who need to understand what an experienced Florida hauler does in those first three days after a major storm. The work is fast, the conditions are bad, and the margin for error on driver safety is small. Here is the playbook.
Hour 0-12: Confirm crews, confirm equipment, confirm communications
Before any truck rolls, you have to know who is available and what condition the equipment is in. The storm itself probably took out power, scattered debris, and may have damaged the yard. The first 12 hours after the worst of the weather passes is account-and-assess.
For drivers: every driver gets called or texted. Confirm they are safe, their family is safe, their home is in livable condition, and they can report to work. A driver whose roof is gone is not going to be productive even if he says he can come in. Get him stabilized first.
For equipment: walk the yard. Check trucks for storm damage, flooded engines, fallen tree damage. Confirm fuel supply is intact and pumps are working. If yard power is down, switch to generator and prioritize fuel pumping over office systems. A diesel pump that does not work is a fleet that does not roll.
For communications: confirm dispatch can reach drivers. Cell service is often degraded for days after a major storm; some areas may have no service for a week. Two-way radios, Starlink, and pre-arranged check-in protocols matter. Have a backup plan for how dispatch and drivers communicate if cell networks are down in the work area.
Hour 12-36: Lock in the work, prioritize safety routing
Once you know your fleet capacity, you need to know your customer mix. Three categories of work will be calling:
- Existing commercial customers who had ongoing projects when the storm hit and need to resume hauling
- Emergency response contracts through county, FDOT, or FEMA channels for debris removal and infrastructure stabilization
- Spot demand from contractors and property owners who suddenly need fill, rip rap, or hauling for storm-damaged sites
Existing customers come first if you want to keep them next year. Their work was already scheduled, you have committed capacity to them, and abandoning them for higher-paying emergency spot work erodes the relationship. Emergency contracts come second – they are important and they pay well, but typically only if your firm is already prequalified for them. FDOT operates a separate Debris Removal (Emergency) work class specifically for this; if you are not prequalified in that class, the storm is too late to chase it. Spot demand fills whatever capacity remains.
Safety routing in the first 36 hours matters more than usual. Roads have debris, washouts, downed power lines, flooded sections, and traffic signals that are dark. Dispatch needs to be talking to drivers about road conditions, not just origins and destinations. A driver who hits a downed power line is a fatality and a yard full of investigators for the next month.
Hour 36-72: Sustain the operation
The first two days you can run on adrenaline. Day three is when fatigue starts breaking things. The playbook for hours 36-72 is about turning emergency response into sustainable operations.
FMCSA Hours of Service rules still apply, including during emergencies, though FMCSA does sometimes issue regional emergency declarations that provide HOS flexibility. Check the FMCSA emergency declaration page; do not assume you have HOS relief just because there was a storm. For dump truck operations, the standard 150 air-mile short-haul exemption is the workhorse – drivers operating within 150 air miles of their reporting location with a 14-hour duty window do not need ELDs and have simplified logging.
Driver welfare matters more than dispatch optimization in hour 36-72. Food, water, and rest breaks. A driver who is exhausted, dehydrated, or hungry makes mistakes in a loaded tri-axle. Mistakes in a loaded tri-axle hurt people. Build the schedule with realistic windows for breaks even when the work is urgent.
Fuel logistics get tight in the recovery window. Retail diesel stations may be out of fuel or only running on generator. Bulk fuel delivery to the yard can be delayed. The fleets that pre-arranged fuel supply contracts with priority during emergencies keep moving. The fleets that did not are scrambling.
What separates experienced storm operators from new ones
The hauling companies that have run multiple Florida hurricanes have a few things in common:
- Pre-arranged emergency contracts with county and state agencies, signed and current before the season starts
- Fuel supply agreements that include priority delivery during emergencies
- Driver call-down lists with multiple contact methods per driver
- Two-way radio or satellite communication backup for when cell networks go down
- Yard generators sized to run fuel pumps, basic lighting, and a small office
- Documented crash-and-injury protocols including which medical facilities are likely to be operating in the affected area
- An accounting system that can issue invoices and track FEMA-eligible work without falling behind
None of that gets built in the 48 hours before landfall. It gets built in the spring and tested every season.
What property owners and GCs need to know
If you are not a trucking company but you need hauling capacity in the first 72 hours after a Florida storm, the hard truth is that supply is rationed and the people who get served first are existing customers of established fleets. The general contractor who calls their long-term hauling partner on day one gets a callback. The contractor who calls 12 different new companies for spot quotes is competing with everyone else doing the same thing.
The lesson is to build the relationship before you need it. If you are a Florida site owner, GC, or project manager, your hauling partner should know you well enough to recognize your number when you call from a personal cell because the office line is down.
T. Disney has run this drill since 1980
Forty-six years of Florida hurricane seasons gives an operation muscle memory that is hard to replicate. T. Disney Trucking has rolled fleets after Andrew, Charley, Ivan, Wilma, Irma, Michael, Ian, Idalia, Helene, and Milton, among others. Each one taught us something about how to do the next one better. Our Riverview, Fort Myers, and Williston yards are positioned so that we can typically reach most Florida storm-impacted areas within hours of conditions allowing safe operations.
Need a hauling partner that knows how to operate after a Florida storm? Talk to T. Disney Trucking at +1-(844) 258-7825 or visit disneytrucking.com to discuss emergency response capability.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it typically take a Florida hauling fleet to fully mobilize after a hurricane?
For experienced operators, partial fleet capacity typically rolls within 24 hours of conditions allowing safe operations. Full fleet operations usually resume within 48-72 hours, with the timeline depending on storm intensity, road conditions, fuel availability, and driver welfare.
Do FMCSA Hours of Service rules apply during hurricane emergencies?
Yes, the standard rules apply unless FMCSA issues a specific regional emergency declaration with HOS flexibility. Check the FMCSA emergency declaration page for the current storm. The standard 150 air-mile short-haul exemption that most dump truck operations rely on remains in effect.
How do trucking companies get on FDOT or county emergency debris contracts?
FDOT requires prequalification in the Debris Removal (Emergency) work class. Counties typically maintain pre-arranged contracts with vetted hauling firms ahead of season. Both processes happen in the off-season, not in the days after a storm. Reach out to FDOT Procurement and your local county emergency management office well before June 1.
What is the biggest risk to a hauling fleet in the first 72 hours after a Florida storm?
Driver fatigue and unsafe road conditions. The combination of adrenaline, long hours, and damaged road infrastructure causes most of the serious incidents in the response window. Disciplined fleets enforce rest breaks and route planning even when the work is urgent.
Should commercial site owners try to find spot-market hauling after a storm?
It is rarely productive. Established fleets prioritize their existing customer commitments and contracted emergency work. Spot demand competes for whatever capacity remains, usually at premium pricing. The reliable strategy is to build a relationship with a hauling partner before the season starts.
