TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Thursday marks the end of the 2017 hurricane season which turned out to be record breaking. It's estimated this season was the costliest, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.
To say this hurricane season was "rough" is an understatement. In all, there were 17 named storms. 10 were hurricanes that formed one right after another. Of those, six became major hurricanes, with three making landfall in the United States and Caribbean Islands.
Locally, the Big Bend and south Georgia didn't see the same devastation as others, but we did have Tropical Storm Irma pass through the area. This put Leon County Emergency Management to test the lessons learned from Hurricane Hermine IN 2016.
"Some of the things we were able to do was better communicate some of the hazards we anticipated with Irma," says Kevin Peters, Emergency Management Director. "We had a better presence on our social media and our app, Leon County Citizens Connect app."
Leon County Residents also learned a lot from this and previous hurricane seasons.
"We prepared very well this time because we were scared from last time and it was a category one," explains Magi Mekaiess, a resident of Leon county. "It destroyed a lot of trees in 2016. This time we really prepared good."
Both residents and the Leon County Emergency Management are glad this hurricane season is over, but they will continue learning from this historic season from others.
"We collaborate routinely both at the regional and statewide level," says Peters. "Also, there are opportunities with conferences throughout the year to interface with our colleagues from other states. We do have the opportunity to learn lessons from other communities about the hazards they experienced."
With hurricane season ending Thursday, many may decide to donate their preparedness kit supplies. A good idea in theory, however, Peters suggests keeping your kit fully stocked in the event of other natural disasters such a severe storms or wildfires that can happen year round.
Leon County Emergency Management is currently working on their "After Action Report" regarding their response to this year's hurricane season. This report is expected to be completed in December and will help the team know what they can improve upon and practice for future seasons.
