Hurricane prep event at Collier County Emergency Center

Collier County held a hurricane preparation event on Monday to ensure the public is ready when a tropical system hits Southwest Florida. The goal is to prepare the community for any potential emergency scenario.

The Collier County Emergency Operations Center said that nature doesn’t always comply with their schedule, but they’re trying to build enough leeway for when the time comes.

They’re also aware that for many, evacuating can be a pain. Nevertheless, when they say it’s time to go, don’t hesitate.

After Hurricane Ian, a prevailing sentiment from storm victims became that they didn’t have enough time to evacuate. WINK News asked Dan Summers, the Collier County Emergency Management director, what will be different this year if another hurricane has Southwest Florida in its sights.

“Every storm presents new challenges and different timing elements, and certainly, we saw that storm surge event escalate very quickly,” Summers said.

Summers explained it’s all about focusing your attention on what’s happening around you.

“These evacuations are very challenging. On a community, it’s very, it disrupts our businesses, it disrupts our daily lives, so we want to make sure that we’re not over-evacuating, we’re not under-evacuating, but when we give that information that it’s time to go, it’s time to go,” Summers said.

U.S. congressman Mario Diaz-Balart came to Collier County on Monday to remind people it’s always best to be prepared. Hurricane Ian reminded us of the danger we risk if we’re not.

He knows people want more of a heads-up when the order comes.

“That’s what emergency preparedness is all about,” Summers said. “It’s not a static environment. We find out different things today, whether it’s new supplies, equipment, training personnel. It’s a continuum of preparedness in local government, state government, federal government, as well as it should be for our residents who have been through this event and they have learned from that and that will make them better prepared for the next event.”

They also want to remind folks to sign up for Alert Collier. It’s the Collier County emergency notification system. Click here to learn more about Alert Collier.