Operation Prepare and Share website helps to test your plan
and share vital information with others

United Way of Miami-Dade is running hurricane drills, updating its emergency plan, and launching Operation Prepare and Share to urge residents and business owners to do the same and share information with their networks. The OPS website, www.unitedwaymiami.org/hurricane, has information on what to do before, during and after a storm in a home and/or business, a check list of supplies, list of emergency contact phone numbers, links to partners who offer relief and recovery assistance, and information on how to give or receive help after a storm.

In addition to its internal emergency plan, United Way is working with its Impact Partners and other nonprofits to keep up-to-date information in an online database known as the Disaster Preparation & Response System. After a hurricane, these agencies will use the web tool to complete a post-disaster survey, and indicate any immediate needs they may have, or help they can provide.

“It is vital that folks in this community be prepared for hurricane season and encourage their loved ones to do the same, because it only takes one storm to create a disaster,” Harve Mogul, president and CEO, United Way, said. “At United Way, we have an emergency preparedness plan in place, and we are offering tools for everyone to do the same.”

This year, two named storms have occurred before the official hurricane season, which runs from June 1 – Nov. 30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA has forecasted that the USA will have a “near-normal” hurricane season, with a total of 9-15 named storms to form in the Atlantic. Of those storms, between four and eight are likely to become hurricanes with sustained winds of 74 mph or faster. Between one and three are likely to become major hurricanes, defined as storms with winds of at least 111 mph.

United Way will also disseminate information svia its email distribution database, newsletters, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel. Updated hurricane information can be found at www.unitedwaymiami.org/hurricane.

The Disaster Preparation & Response System was created with funding from United Way, the Health Foundation of South Florida, The Children’s Trust, and with leadership from the former Alliance for Human Services. It was launched in 2008 to effectively and efficiently gather information about the status of community-based organizations after a disaster.