SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Hurricane season begins Saturday, and it’s important for Central Florida residents to take some time to prepare.
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“Just as we’re preparing here today, we’re encouraging every resident to also prepare,” Jay Zembower, Chairman for the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners, said.
County leaders across the region are also taking steps to keep you safe.
Read: More than 1-in-4 Floridians would ignore evacuation warnings, new survey shows
Friday, the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management hosted its “Annual Hurricane Exercise.”
This was in partnership with more than 40 agencies like the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Duke Energy, and the seven cities within the county.
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More than 600 calls, some with scenarios that have happened before and some that have not, came through the operations center while each agency worked to respond.
“We want to learn some things today, we want things to break today, not when a hurricane is approaching,” Alan Harris, the Director for the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management, said.
Read: What you should do now to prepare for hurricane season
The county is also taking lessons learned to better help its residents.
The Seminole County Fire Department is adding to its fleet to help those in flood prone areas.
“We now have two new, 6x6 highwater multiuse rescue vehicles,” Matthew Hettler, the Deputy Chief for the Seminole County Fire Department, announced. This was paid for through ARPA federal funds.
Read: Florida’s 2-week hurricane sales tax holiday begins this weekend
Leaders are urging planning and preparing ahead of this hurricane season.
“We really believe this is important,” Harris said. “Planning and training is where it’s at. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when a hurricane will come here to the Central Florida area.”
If you’d like to receive emergency alerts in Seminole County, you can sign up at PrepareSeminole.org.
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