Frequent severe weather is a common occurrence along the Gulf Coast. The following links will provide you with valuable information about what to do as severe weather approaches.

• National Preparedness Month
  
  
• General Information About Hurricanes
  
  
• Disaster Supplies Kit - Things you will need if you stay at home
  
  
• Shelter Information
  
  
• What to do Before the Storm
  
  
• What to do During the Storm
  
  
• What to do After the Storm
  
  
• Helpful Hints When Filing Insurance Claims
  
  
• See Links to More Info
  
  
• CPR Training
  
  
• Hurricane Preparation for Your Pets
  
  
• Pet Friendly Shelter Plan
  

Individual Disaster Preparedness – FEMA Administrator Fugate Video Message:

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate emphasizes the need for the individual to be a part of the emergency management team. http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/904

"Our entire emergency management team has a role to play when it comes to preparing for and responding to the next disaster," said Administrator Fugate. "One of the most important parts of that team is the public. The more prepared the public is now, by getting an emergency response kit, making an emergency action plan, and getting a skill, like CPR, the stronger our emergency response team will be."

---

Great Hurricane Blowout

Everyone in the emergency management community remembers the horrific 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. Hurricanes Charlie, Dennis, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne and Wilma ravaged our beautiful state, and caused the residents of Florida tremendous discomfort and pain. However, through it all, the strength of the Floridian people propelled our state past this trying time and empowered both state and local agencies to enhance their ability to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against the impacts of future devastating tropical events.

My experiences in 2004 and 2005 remind me of the importance of families having a disaster action plan and an emergency supply kit. This is why I fully support the efforts of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) to give Florida’s families the information residents need to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season through the Great Hurricane Blowout. This innovative program will promote a culture of hurricane-based preparedness in our state through fresh outreach methods. The final result of this program will help Floridians accomplish several objectives, including:

- Making a family plan
- Making a disaster-supply kit
- Understanding safe cooking and sanitary practices without county and municipal utility services
- Passing time without electricity or the family’s ability to safely leave its home
- Mitigating the effects of storm damage on residences
- Training with various disaster-related non-profit organizations

You can help the Great Hurricane Blowout move Florida’s families “down the path to preparedness” in multiple ways. First, you can visit www.greathurricaneblowout.org and pledge your individual and agency’s support of the Blowout.  Simply list your e-mail where indicated and while there, you can also learn the best practices to spread the word about the Great Hurricane Blowout through your social networking mentions via Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. You can also include the Great Hurricane Blowout’s messages and logo on your department’s website. Finally, you can help spread the word about this great program by telling your friends, family, and professional contacts about the exciting steps FLASH is taking to ensure that all Floridians are safe during the 2010 Hurricane Season.

On June 1, 2010, the first day of hurricane season I ask all of our staff to turn off their power at home for an evening meal and or join our senior staff in the State EOC and join us for lunch in the dark.  I strongly encourage you and your agencies to participate in the Great Hurricane Blowout. I firmly believe that this program will help the residents of our state keep their families safe when the next hurricane comes through Florida.

In recent years, the American people have been urged to "get ready" and to prepare for emergencies—from natural disasters to terrorist attacks. But no one has ever given the public a simple, comprehensive and consistent tool to actually measure how prepared they are. No one has ever provided communities and the nation as a whole with a practical "gauge" to assess their preparedness, recognize their successes, and identify gaps where more work needs to be done. Until now.

The Public Readiness Index (PRI) is a first-of-its kind tool for individuals, families and communities to determine and evaluate their readiness. See how you stack up against the national average and learn specific steps you can take to better prepare yourself and your family, as well as things you can do to encourage your community, schools, and workplace to be better prepared.

Get your readiness quotient - "RQ" - by visiting The Council for Excellence in Government at http://whatsyourrq.org/form.php?refcode=SantaRosa The importance of taking the RQ test is that we can track grades by zip code which may assist us in determining where future preparedness training and public awareness initiatives should take place.