Tallahassee Participates in Hurricane Training Exercise

With hurricane season beginning this Friday, June 1, the City of Tallahassee, Florida, is participating in a three-day, multi-jurisdictional training exercise to test hurricane response capabilities, through Friday. The exercise, dubbed "Hurricane Amy," is being coordinated by the Tallahassee office of the National Weather Service, with other local, state and regional agencies also taking part.

The City's Area Command, located at Tallahassee Police Department headquarters, will be activated for the training event. City Emergency Management Team members, including representatives from utility departments, fire, police, public works, StarMetro, and the Tallahassee Regional Airport, among others, will be stationed at the area command. "Response" efforts will be coordinated from the area command, with the exercise taking place May 31 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., and again on June 1 between 9 and 11 a.m.

Tallahassee maintains a comprehensive Emergency Management operation, coordinated by the Tallahassee Fire Department. Members of the city's Emergency Management Team have received extensive training, via courses offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Florida Division of Emergency Management, or other agencies.

Utilizing the Incident Command System used by FEMA, the City's EM-Team covers all areas of emergency operations, including preparedness, response, rescue and recovery, debris management, etc. Emergency Management plans also are deployed for non-weather related incidents ranging from terrorism to community health issues. The city works directly with other agencies, including Leon County, the State of Florida and others as needed to properly respond to all emergency situations.