All 67 Florida Counties Recognized as StormReady®!

NWS Southern Region Director Bill Proenza (Right) presents StormReady sign to Florida Governor Jeb Bush as State Emergency Management Div. Director Craig Fugate looks on. (Photo: Courtesy of Florida DCA)

(June 12, 2006) -- With the recent addition of Lafayette County - All 67 counties in the state of Florida are StormReady®! The state now has a total of 71 StormReady designations. National Weather Service Southern Region Director Bill Proenza formally recognized the state as StormReady during a special briefing for Governor Jeb Bush and state agency leaders. The recognition was part of a hurricane season briefing by Florida's Emergency Response Team.

"StormReady encourages communities to take a proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations and public awareness in partnership with their local National Weather Service office," said Proenza. "StormReady helps communities improve communication and safety skills needed to save lives - before, during and after the event."

In addition to the counties, there are four designated communities: Orlando, Oldsmar, Treasure Island and Indian Harbour Beach. Indian Harbour Beach also has the distinction of being the first TsunamiReady community on the U.S. East Coast. Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando recently became the first commercial StormReady site.

Florida also has two entities designated as StormReady Supporters. They are the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota and the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. StormReady supporters can be businesses, schools, hospitals, shopping centers or any other entity that meets the National Weather Service eligibility requirements.

StormReady is a nationwide community preparedness program that uses a grassroots approach to help communities develop plans to handle local severe weather and flooding threats. The program is voluntary and provides communities with clear-cut advice from the local National Weather Service forecast office and state and local emergency managers.

To achieve StormReady recognition, the counties, communities and other designated sites worked closely National Weather Service forecast offices in Key West, Miami, Tampa, Melbourne, Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Mobile, Ala. To be recognized as StormReady, a community must establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center, have more than one way to receive severe weather forecasts and warnings and alert the public, create a system that monitors local weather conditions, promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars and develop a formal hazardous weather plan -- including training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

NWS Southern Region Director Bill Proenza recognizes all Florida counties as StormReady during a briefing for Governor Jeb Bush, Lieutenant Governor Toni Jennings and other state officials. (Photo: Courtesy of Florida DCA)