It’s been just nine months since Hurricane Hermine hit Tallahassee and another hurricane season is just around the corner. Assistant City manager Cynthia Barber is updating Tallahassee’s approach to disasters.
Communication during emergencies is at the core of Barber’s plan. She spoke Wednesday during the City Commission meeting.
“During Hurricane Hermine we heard quite often that the public was dependent upon tablets, iPads, and smartphone devices to stay abreast of what was happening with the emergency and recovery. So we redesigned our website to make it a lot more mobile friendly, making information easier to access for the public, so that’ll be something that I think our public will appreciate,” Barber said.
Barber also emphasized the importance of neighborhoods. She suggested that each neighborhood should have a leader who would be trained to handle emergency situations. City commissioner Gil Ziffer praised Barber on the idea.
“All the work in the neighborhoods, everything you’re suggesting is the best way to disseminate information down. You know, you start at the top and it’s the pyramid it goes on, and eventually you hit everyone at the bottom,” Ziffer added.
Barber is also working with the American Red Cross to host disaster workshops over the summer. A Build Your Bucket event to collect disaster supplies will take place at the old Tallahassee mall June 3.
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