TADD Billboard Unveiled in Florida

NWS Southern Region Deputy Regional Director Steven Cooper (third from left) joined FLASH President Leslie Chapman Henderson (fifth from left), Dept. of Community Affairs Secretary Thaddeus Cohen (sixth from left), and others for TADD billboard campaign launch in Tallahassee, Fla. (Photo: Courtesy Floriida Community Affairs Dept.)

The National Weather Service Turn Around, Don't Drown® (TADD) flood safety awareness effort added a new element this week with the launching of a highway billboard campaign in Florida. NWS Southern Region Deputy Regional Director Steven Cooper Joined Federal Alliance for Safe Homes President Leslie Chapman-Henderson and Florida State Officials for the campaign kickoff February 21 in Tallahassee.

A similar billboard promotion is planned for Texas this Spring. The TADD concept originated in Texas and expanded to a national effort which is now nearing its third year. Turn Around, Don't Drown® was launched as a joint effort of the NWS Southern Region and FLASH on May 21, 2003. It is designed to enhance public awareness of the dangers of driving or walking into flooded areas.

Approximately 80 percent of all flood fatalities in the nation result from people either walking or driving into moving water. A colorful poster, a Turn Around, Don't Drown® sign, window sticker, FLASH card and a NWS flood safety brochure are all available at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tadd. Visitors are encouraged to download, re-produce and distribute the images through community civic organizations, schools, government agencies or private businesses.

The TADD billboard announcement was part of Florida's Hazardous Weather Awareness Week activities. Hazardous Weather Awareness Week is an annual campaign with the goal of increasing the public's knowledge of the weather hazards that can affect Floridians and visitors to the state. Different weather hazards are highlighted each day of the week.