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Fair skies over the Osceola County Emergency Center — for now. The EOC is already prepping for possible winter severe weather. PHOTO/OSCEOLA EOM
Osceola County residents, you can breath a sigh of relief — despite the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season being another for the record books, it ended on Nov. 30, and our area was only indirectly impacted, mainly by rain, from three storms.
The National Hurricane Center named 21 storms, declared seven hurricanes and classified four as major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher with top winds over 110 mph).
Even at these high numbers, the expected above-average hurricane season was slightly lower than the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, in their spring and revised early summer forecasts.
No one was more relieved at the “quiet” passing of this year’s hurricane season than the men and women of the Osceola County Office of Emergency Management, who are always on the watch for any disasters that can befall our area, natural or man-made. According to the agency’s website, their goal is to protect life and property through a system of “prevention, preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.”
The end of the hurricane season marks the starting point, not the end, for their efforts at keeping the public educated on our winter serve weather season, which can produce strong winds and even tornadoes as cold fronts pass through Central Florida. In fact, the F3 tornado that struck portions of Osceola County in the early morning hours of Feb. 23, 1998, was part of the deadliest outbreak in the state’s history, according to NOAA, with 25 deaths and over 150 injured, and damage to or destruction of more than 1,000 structures.
According to Bill Litton, the Director of the Osceola County Office of Emergency Management, their office is working on activities for schools and the businesses for Severe Weather Week, starting Feb. 9. A children’s poster contest was held last year, through the Osceola Library System, and another is planned for 2022, along with other activities.
Emergency Management has also been busy in the area of flood awareness and mitigation. Their efforts have produced an interactive map where a resident can enter their address and look at flood scenarios in their neighborhood.
“Efforts like this and flood mitigation projects have saved some county residents as much as 25 percent on their annual flood insurance premiums,” said Litton.
Looking ahead to the next hurricane season, new hurricane-rated shelters are coming online at Gateway High School, which will include a pet shelter, as well as shelters in new schools in Sunbridge and other locations.
“We are also focusing on plans to address ‘cyber disruption,’ which can potentially harm the public and degrade or halt basic services across the spectrum of utilities, healthcare, government, and business,” Litton said.
Residents are urged to sign up for locationspecific alerts at www.AlertOsceola.org. More information is available at the Emergency Management agency page at www.osceola.org.
