TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The state of Florida is preparing for the potential impact of Hurricane Irma.
This afternoon, the city of Tallahassee along with Leon County holding a joint hurricane preparedness briefing.
The overwhelming message don't panic, just prepare. The city and county are already taking precautions to keep residents safe and to improve on responding to hurricanes like Hermine last year.
Mayor Andrew Gillum, along with the sheriff, city and county commissioners, Red Cross and emergency management shared how each department is getting ready for whatever impact the area gets from Irma.
The county has issued a local state of emergency, which means more resources will be available more immediately. Both the city and county will have locations for residents to fill sandbags Wednesday morning.
The city says up to 800 people are ready to tackle issues with utilities and restoring power.
Learning from Hermine, the city has a new approach there.
"Some people that in the past may have come on earlier now will come on later, but everybody will come on," said Rick Fernandez, the Tallahassee City Manager. "What it does give us the ability to do is have multiple crews working on the same line. So, you will have more assets dedicated to it, so everybody will come on a lot earlier than before."
To help stay prepared and up to date with the storm, Leon County officials encourage downloading the free Citizens Connect app.
