Tropical Storm Fay inundates Florida

| 08.22.2008 | 08:04:5613385 |

August 22 '08: As Tropical Storm Fay has worked its way across Florida, as much as 30 inches of rain have fallen on parts of the state prompting federal and state officials to declare states of emergency, the Associated Press reported. Online resources for community members have been made available according to One Storm which linked to TropicalStormFay.org sponsored by the Red Cross.

Meanwhile the Red Cross also has their Twitter feed and Tampa Bay Red Cross has posted an audio preparedness update (courtesy of John Solomon).

While community, local and state officials work to help residents affected by the storm, the Army News Service reported members of a pilot preparedness program for the Army called Ready Army, were meeting in Tampa during the storm. "Some 100 attendees of the Army Emergency Management's annual workshop for installation preparedness ... announced a new preparedness initiative: Ready Army," the press release read.

According to officials, the Army readiness program is an effort to organize armed service families for disaster response and preparedness in the first 72 hours of an emergency. Patricia Powell, a spokeswoman from Batelle Corp's Crystal City Operations based in Virginia said in the Army press release, "We want people to consider how they'll notify their families and where they'll meet." Ready Army, officials said, was a way for soldiers to know that if a disaster should strike while they are away or deployed, that their families would be safe and have a response plan in place.

Currently, Florida officials are offering information about Tropical Storm Fay on the state's emergency management website. Heavy rains are forecasted for north and northeastern Florida and into southeastern Georgia, parts of South Carolina and southeastern Alabama as the storm moves inland, the Weather Channel reported.

National Blueprint Tags: Communication & Public Information, Citizen & Community.

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