The first named Hurricane of the 2019 Season skipped Tallahassee but officials say the season is just getting started. They’re urging everyone – especially people who are elderly or disabled – to get prepared in case of a natural disaster. City officials gave a hurricane preparedness presentation Wednesday at the Tallahassee Senior Center.
Since April Tallahassee officials have made a point of helping the city’s seniors get prepared for a tropical storm. Neighborhood Services Coordinator Kilisha Fain leads the program.
This is our hurricane prep program, we’re in our third year of the program. And again we’re just trying to make the community ready because we’ve had so many hurricanes in the past.
In the last decade, Tallahassee has seen 4 storms, the stronger ones being the most recent Hurricane Michael and Hermine. Some people hunker downed for most if not all of those storms while others evacuated. Whichever route you take, the city wants to ensure everyone is prepared Fain says.
One of the things that’s a staple for our program is the build your bucket. And what that is is just we’re recommending items that citizens should include in their bucket.
Fain says flashlights, canned foods, water, and a portable weather radio are important to include in the bucket.
“With these being seniors obviously a lot of them rely on medication so we definitely want to put it out there and stress that when they’re building their buckets that they include medications in their buckets.”
Fain also recommends that senior citizens sign up for the special needs registry.
It is a program that allows residents with special needs to be able to sign up for assistance during an emergency.
And says the registry isn’t just for seniors.
“It’s anyone who has a special need, so that can be someone who is hearing [or] visually impaired, they can be the elderly, somebody who relies on special equipment. Anyone who has a specific disability,” says Fain.
To sign up for the registry visit snr.floridadisaster.org or dial 850-606-3700. Also to get a bucket contact the city of Tallahassee. So far the city has given out more than 800 buckets to residents during its hurricane preparedness presentations and workshops.
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