Miami-Dade Designated #HurricaneStrong by Nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. – FLASH.

PR Newswire

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) named Miami-Dade County as the second county in the United States to receive the honorary designation as a National Hurricane Resilience Initiative - #HurricaneStrong community. The #HurricaneStrong designation is part of the National Hurricane Resilience Initiative created in 2016 to improve hurricane preparedness, mitigation, and overall readiness through increased public awareness and engagement.

The nonprofit FLASH chose the South Florida county of more than 2.7 million for the designation based on high-performing scores on the ISO Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) and Community Rating System (CRS) for floodplain management as well as excellence in comprehensive business training, community outreach, integrated planning with the school system, establishment as a NOAA StormReady^® Community, and overall leadership engagement.

"Hurricane Irma brought the largest mandatory evacuation in Miami-Dade County history," said FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson. "A successful evacuation of this magnitude was only possible as a direct result of a solid plan, a well-trained team, and strong leaders who took action ahead of time. By their broad-based efforts, Miami-Dade County has demonstrated a profound commitment to preserving the safety and serving the needs of the most hurricane-exposed community in the nation."

Last year, the #HurricaneStrong campaign helped increase public safety and reduce economic losses from hurricanes by reaching tens of millions of residents in hurricane-exposed states with five key messages, including:

Personal Safety - Know your evacuation zone
Family Preparedness - Build a disaster supply kit
Financial Security - Have an insurance checkup
Damage Prevention - Strengthen your home
Community Service - Help your neighbor

Leon County, FL was awarded the first #HurricaneStrong Community designation during the 2018 National Hurricane Conference for their focus on learning and improving from disaster following Hurricane Hermine and Hurricane Irma.

FEMA, FLASH, and NOAA serve as the #HurricaneStrong Presenting Partners and The Weather Channel serves as the National Media Partner.

Cummins, State Farm Insurance, and USAA serve as the national sponsors.

About FLASH

The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) is the country's leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters. The FLASH partnership includes more than 100 innovative and diverse organizations that share a vision of making America a more disaster-resilient nation including: BASF Corporation, FEMA, Florida Division of Emergency Management, Huber Engineered Woods, International Code Council, National Weather Service, Portland Cement Association, Simpson Strong-Tie, State Farm, and USAA. In 2008, FLASH, and Disney opened the interactive weather experience StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Learn more and access free consumer resources by visiting www.flash.org, calling toll-free (877) 221- SAFE (7233), following @federalalliance on Twitter or Facebook.com/federalalliance, and reading the FLASH blog – Protect Your Home in a FLASH.