Resources Available For Peak Hurricane Season

Take a virtual seminar through a series of videos

Fort Myers, FL, July 2, 2020 – New resources are now available online to help guide you and your family this hurricane season, including short instructional videos outlining the supplies to have on hand, how to decide whether to go to a public shelter, and what to expect if you do and how to stay safe after the storm has passed.

Lee County produced the videos to assist community members who typically attend in-person Hurricane Seminars offered throughout cities and unincorporated Lee County. Those seminars were not possible this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The videos enable residents to do their own virtual seminars. As Southwest Florida prepares for the peak of hurricane activity – typically in August and September – it is as important as ever to be informed. The resources online offer the same valuable information presented in a seminar, but are available to view on your schedule and to share with your family and friends. Also available online now: a digital version of 2020 All Hazards Guide.

“Responding to and recovering from a disaster is truly a whole community effort and is everyone’s responsibility,” said Lee Mayfield, director of Lee County Public Safety - Emergency Management. “At Lee County Public Safety we ask that you and your family do your part by creating a ‘Culture of Preparedness’ at home, and share this information with your friends and neighbors.”

Videos are available at www.leegov.com/hurricane and include:

·         Overview
·         Making a Plan
·         Preparing Your Pets
·         Generator Safety
·         Emergency Shelters
·         Immediately Before the Storm
·         After the Storm / Recovery

Videos will include a “Hurricane Ready” quiz, which will test viewers’ knowledge and ensure that you’re “Hurricane Ready.”

The All Hazards Guide offers the same useful information in a concise printed form. It also has evacuation maps and information on hazards such as wildfires and lightning.

Printed editions of the guide are now available at the following Lee County Library branches: Bonita Springs Public Library, Cape Coral Lee County Library, East County Regional Library, Fort Myers Regional Library, Lakes Regional Library, North Fort Myers Public Library, Northwest Regional Library and South County Regional Library. 

Contactless curbside pick-up of 25 guides or more is also available at the Emergency Operations Center, 2675 Ortiz Ave., Fort Myers. Call 239-533-0622 or email EMInfo@leegov.com in advance to schedule a pick-up.

“Lee County plans year-round for tropical events and recognizes that disaster response is a whole community effort to include partner agencies, individuals and families,” Mayfield said. “When resources are outstretched and limited, we also work closely with our state and federal partners to fill local gaps.”

MORE INFORMATION: LeePrepares app and the AlertLee system

Lee County Emergency Management has two tools to help residents prepare for and be aware of hurricanes and other emergency situations – the LeePrepares app and the AlertLee system.

LeePrepares:

The LeePrepares app – available in Google Play and the App Store – assists individuals and families with preparing for and recovering from all types of disasters that may affect the community.

Features include:

•       GPS functionality for locating the user’s Evacuation Zone;
•       Real time information from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on shelter openings, with mapping/directions and hurricane evacuations;
•       Current Emergency (EOC) Activation Level;•       Recovery information on re-entry, curfews, points of
distribution, and coping with disasters;
•       Sign-up for AlertLee emergency notification system (see below).
•       Frequently Asked Questions;
•       Links to Special Needs registration for those with special medical needs, and/or transportation needs during an evacuation;
•       Family Disaster Plan and Emergency Supply List;
•       American Sign Language Disaster Preparedness Videos;
•       Current local weather and hazardous weather outlooks.

AlertLee:

AlertLee is an emergency notification system that allows registered users to receive telephone, text, and/or email alerts related to natural or man-made emergencies.

The AlertLee system will be used when an emergency arises that you should know about. Severe weather situations, missing persons, evacuation notices, boil water notices, fire or floods and active shooter situations are a few examples of the type of events that may warrant a notification.

To sign up, residents should go to www.AlertLee.com, select their municipality or unincorporated Lee County and complete the registration steps.

The AlertLee system already includes published, listed landline telephones, but not cell phones or VOIP numbers. To be certain to receive alerts, it is important to register and update the information if it changes. The information will be used only for AlertLee notifications.

There is no charge to register or receive system alerts.

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