More than a thousand emergency managers, first responders, and other experts meet in Orlando this week for the Governor’s annual hurricane conference. They’ll take part in training for the upcoming storm season.The last hurricane to make landfall in Florida was Wilma- ten years ago. Orange County emergency manager Dave Freeman says that’s a concern
“Because people tend to have short memories, and they tend to get very complacent when they haven’t been impacted by something, and so that’s another reason for us to continue to refresh ourselves”, said Freeman.
Freeman says they’ll also talk about new strategies to get the message out to the public.
He says Orange County learned valuable lessons from 2004 when four major hurricanes hit Florida: county facilities are better able to withstand storms, and training has improved in the last decade.
New smart phone apps also mean there are more ways to communicate with residents if a hurricane hits.