Officials stress planning as hurricane season begins
Last Modified: Friday, June 01, 2012 1:50 PM
By Lance Traweek / American Press
With hurricane season officially starting today, the Office of Emergency Preparedness met with members of the news media and local police agencies Thursday in an effort to get the most accurate and efficient information to the public.
Dick Gremillion, OEP director, said it is important the public use sites like ready.gov and ready.gov for tips on emergency preparedness for families and businesses.
“The biggest thing people should be thinking about for hurricane season is that you should have your plans together now,” Gremillion said.
“Don’t wait until the event happens to take a certain action. Get your medications filled in advance, and keep cash on hand because if you’re without power, an ATM will not be helpful.”
Gremillion said that if a hurricane does happen and the community is dispersed, the latest emergency information will be streamed online.
“We have had several meetings now with the public information officers, and we just thought we had gotten to a point,” he said. “We have been meeting in an effort to get out better-quality information more quickly to the public about any type of public safety action that may be taking place.”
He said preparedness among the public includes getting information that is not just fast but accurate.
“We’re struggling with how do we keep ahead of social media — that’s the newest thing now,” he said.
“A lot of times we struggle to get information out as quickly as it gets on Facebook and Twitter. As a group, this is something we have been trying to come up with a solution for.”
He said officials are just now tapping into social media.
Posted By: Flora Stringer On: 6/1/2012
Title: Officials stress planning as hurricane season begins
Great coverage and reminding for everyone.
Get Social With Us!
+Share