Shannon Weiner, director of Monroe County Emergency Management, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
Emergency Management and officials at the City of Key West sat down last week.
Weiner said, “We had an emergency management 101, a little training and discussion. It was really nice to have the opportunity to sit down with them and kind of talk about how the city and the county interface and support each other during an event during hurricane season, what the roles of our elected officials are during a storm, how they can best help us and the state statute and the process for a disaster declaration, and how we bring in additional resources here in Monroe County. So it was really nice to have the opportunity to sit down have those discussions with them, and answer any questions and kind of find out how we can better help work together in this hurricane season.”
Communication really is key.
Weiner said, “Having that communication is the most important thing, pre hurricane season, making sure everyone has a plan. We understand each other’s plans. We talk about what we need going into hurricane season, if we’re going to have a staffing shortfall, and we need staffing support, if we lack a resource, if we know that generators are going to need extra fuel and we might need a fuel contract to bring in extra fuel or extra generators. So we really try to work through, of course, the big picture stuff, but the little the little things, too, to make sure we have a smooth response and recovery. Because you never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at you.”
There are 89 days until the start of hurricane season.
Weiner said, “Living in Florida, but especially living here in the Florida Keys, as residents, we all really need to be prepared. A lot of the storms that travel to other parts of the state come across or pass by us first. So we might not have a full hurricane, but we might have a pretty nasty tropical storm and that’s nothing to fool around with. So we definitely need to be prepared. Every family needs to have a plan. They need to have a disaster plan specific to the needs of their household. Some households have children, some have pets. Some have seniors. Every household should have a plan, and the members should really know and understand it. Know where you’re going to stay in an evacuation. We always encourage everyone, if they have to evacuate, to evacuate to friends and family and with friends and family. A shelter is there if you need it, but it should be a last resort. If we are not evacuating the county, but we’re staying in county, and we’re having, say, a Category One storm, and you don’t feel safe in your home or your residence, then Monroe County will have a shelter. If you can’t go stay with other friends or family, we will have shelters for you. So really, really important to have that base plan in place, and it goes along to having a disaster supply with that kit, with that too. We talk about that every year, but a good kit should have enough food and water and medicine and dog food and dog medicine, and other animals, for each household member, and we say for seven days just to be on that safe side. The county is going to be there for you, and if we need we’ll bring in help from the state or federal government as well. But seven days is an excellent plan to have.”
The National Hurricane Center, especially the one in Key West, will certainly continue to remain staffed and ready to serve and guide residents.
Weiner said, “We have really good relationships with the National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service Key West, those the men and women that work there are very vigilant in the job that they do, and I’m confident in their skills and ability and their preparedness levels going into hurricane season.”
Weiner has been the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association President for a few years.
She said, “I did step down from that position on January 31, of this year, what an incredible experience, though, to be able to lead the professional association for emergency management in the state of Florida. I spent three years on the executive board, and two of those as president, and one as vice president, just a wonderful group of people, professionals who want to make our emergency management more professional and keep our community safe. So I will continue as a member of the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association for sure, great networking opportunity, great learning opportunity, and actually I will also continue to serve the Association on the Certification Commission, so helping evaluate and mentor emergency managers as they work through the process for earning their certification as a professional”
Weiner also guided the county through the construction and the opening of the Emergency Operations Center last year.
She said, “It’s been busy, but it’s been a great opportunity to do some really amazing things for the community. It is a great feeling. I will tell you to have a, what we call a standing Emergency Operations Center, you just have to walk out of your office and walk into the, we call it sometimes, the big room, the Incident Command Center, and be able to just use the resources in there, the technology that’s in there on a day to day basis. But to know that we don’t have to take the time to set up, to prepare to run those operations, we can just walk in the door and we’re ready to go. Makes us much stronger as a public safety community here in Monroe County.”
The tropical cyclone notification has been changed recently.
Weiner said, “The National Hurricane Center is looking at the designations for a potential tropical cyclone. They’re going to be able to extend it to 48 to 72 hours between that time frame, allowing earlier alerts about potential storm systems that are likely to develop and impact land to go out. They’re going to be able to issue watches or warnings earlier. Last year, we had Helene, which quickly developed in the Caribbean and impacted the west coast of Florida just a few days later. It was considered a storm that did rapidly intensify, and the hurricane center works hard to really understand and predict what those storms are going to do. Every six hours we’re receiving new information from them, but being able to issue an alert earlier in their system is just obviously an incredibly great tool to have in their pocket so that we can all be better prepared to seek shelter or evacuate when we need to.”
With the upcoming start of hurricane season, early re-entry placards and business placards will be coming out.
Weiner said, “That program opened Friday for Monroe County, if you’re a business that can provide a critical service or support in the response phase of and a recovery phase of a storm, so if you’re a hotel and can provide lodging for emergency workers, or you’re a restaurant and can help with feeding or you’re a landscaper with tools to help remove road debris, construction, and you have some heavy equipment, we encourage you to apply for that early re-entry program. Basically, it’s a very brief online application, but we do ask you to have a plan of how you would be able to take care of yourself and the staff that you would bring in. We’re looking at just a few staff, just enough to get your business on the on their feet and then be able to support county operations as well. So that opened Friday, and that will be open through the first of May.”
For more information, click here: https://monroecountyem.com/1324/Emergency-Management