SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL — The City of Tallahassee is launching a free workshop series aimed at getting residents ready before hurricane season begins, but some South Side neighbors say they need more than preparation; they need solutions.
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The series, called PREP, Plan for Readiness and Emergency Preparedness, is designed to educate and inform residents so they are ready to respond and recover before severe weather impacts the area.
"Some people say, 'Hey, I went through this last year,' but we want to cultivate a culture of readiness," John Baker, City of Tallahassee Neighborhood Affairs Manager, said.
Each workshop will provide attendees with starter emergency buckets and guidance on how to build hurricane preparedness kits.
City officials are encouraging residents to use the next several weeks to prepare before hurricane season officially begins on June 1st, planning ahead for supplies that may be needed in the first critical days of a storm.
"Perhaps for the first 48 to 72 hours, residents will be have to depend on themselves," Baker said.
For some residents, the conversation goes beyond preparation.
Nathaniel Watson has lived in the Silver Ridge neighborhood for nearly 60 years and says flooding concerns have grown worse over time. While he plans to attend an upcoming session in his neighborhood, he hopes to see long-term improvements where he lives.
"In order to make things better, you have to work toward and make an improvement. I mean, you just can't sit down and realize you have a problem. It ain't gonna correct itself. It's going to take work," Watson said.
City officials say they continue to work year-round on neighborhood infrastructure and utility services to improve community readiness ahead of severe weather.
"Our utility department or electric department, they're working round the clock, making certain that there are preventative measures being taken, whether it is to prevent flooding or cutting back trees from our power lines, so all of that is being done," Baker said.
The next PREP workshop will be held at the Jake Gaither Community Center on Bragg Drive on May 26th. The following session will be at St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral on Thomasville Road on June 16th.
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