FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Brie Turek (407) 246-3106

ORLANDO FIRST CITY IN CENTRAL FLORIDA NAMED “STORMREADY”

National Weather Service Recognizes City of Orlando
For Emergency Preparedness With StormReady Designation

Orlando, FL (August 15, 2005) – Today, officials from the National Weather Service will attend an Orlando City Council Meeting to present Mayor Buddy Dyer and the City of Orlando with a national designation for completing a set of rigorous warning criteria necessary to earn the distinction of being StormReady. With this recognition, Orlando is the 3rd City in the entire state of Florida to receive this national designation, joining more than 900 StormReady communities across the country.

StormReady encourages communities to take a new, proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations and public awareness,” said Bart Hagemeyer, meteorologist-in-charge, NWS Weather Forecast Office in Melbourne, Fla. “StormReady arms communities with improved communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property – before and during the event.”

“I am proud that the City of Orlando is the first municipal-level government in Central Florida to receive this designation and commend our Emergency Management team for their hard work and dedication to the safety of our citizens,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “The City of Orlando has taken the unexpected series of hurricanes from 2004 and turned them into lessons learned as we develop and implement programs and initiatives in preparation for future storms.”

The StormReady program is voluntary and creates partnerships between local NWS offices and state and local emergency managers. 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 to alert the public;

• Create a system that monitors local weather conditions;
  Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars;

• Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises.

“From a new traffic management center that can monitor road conditions, evacuation status and weather conditions, to the City’s very own AM radio station to reach out to citizens with 24-hour updates during a storm, the City is being proactive and innovative in preparing the City of Orlando for any emergency management situation that may arise,” said Manny Soto, the City’s Emergency Manager.

“Just like communities, families need to be storm ready by having an action plan for severe weather. Through StormReady, the National Weather Service plans to educate every American about what to do when severe weather strikes because it is ultimately each individual’s responsibility to protect himself or herself,” added Dennis Decker, warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS Melbourne forecast office.

NOAA's National Weather Service is the official source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories. NOAA's National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and nearly 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes.

On the Web:
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov
NOAA’s National Weather Service: http://www.nws.noaa.gov
StormReady program information is available at: http://www.stormready.noaa.

For more information about the City of Orlando’s emergency preparedness efforts, log on to the City’s Office of Emergency Management Web page at www.cityoforlando.net.
 

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