Emergency Preparedness

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced individuals and families in Wakulla County who sustained uninsured or underinsured losses as a result of Tropical Storm Fay are eligible for individual assistance.

FEMA assistance program can help eligible applicants with serious unmet needs including temporary housing assistance, uninsured personal property, and medical, dental, and funeral expenses caused by the storm. Low-interest disaster loans from the Small Business Administration also are available to homeowners, renters and businesses of all sizes in the designated counties.

To apply for individual assistance, call FEMA at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY). FEMA operators are available 7 a.m. to midnight local time, seven days a week, until further notice. If you experience problems reaching FEMA, please try calling them early in the morning or late in the evening. Or, you can use this link to apply for assistance online: www.fema.gov/assistance/index.shtm

County residents who need to evacuate due to a natural disaster and do not have transportation, should register with our county's emergency manager at 850.926.0860

Visit www.Ready.gov for all your preparedness information.

The Public Health Preparedness (PHP) Program at the Wakulla County Health Department (CHD) was designed to facilitate regional bioterrorism and public health preparedness planning and training efforts. This program functions as part of the North Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force (NFRDSTF), which is comprised of a 13-county region that stretches from Liberty to Columbia Counties. The NFRDSTF is one of Florida's seven regional task forces developed by Governor Jeb Bush after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Wakulla CHD employs a PHP Coordinator who also works in Jefferson and Madison Counties. This coordinator serves as the planning and training liaison between the CHD and other county emergency response agencies. The job of the coordinator is to assist the CHD in preparing for the possible effects of a manmade or naturally-occurring disaster event.

The PHP program conducts annual reviews of the emergency and contingency plans for the CHD and makes revisions to ensure feasibility. The program also trains CHD staff on critical issues such as: Incident Command System, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Epidemiology (the study of diseases and their origins).

In addition to training classes, the program regularly conducts training exercises to test the viability of the CHD's plans. These training exercises are often full-scale, and they are designed to be as realistic as possible. They require participation by CHD staff and the staffs of other county emergency response agencies. The goal of these exercises is to give these agencies the chance to practice and build confidence in their ability to protect the citizens of Wakulla County during a disaster event.