It’s that time of year again

The start of hurricane season is here: June 1. As your Broward County Mayor, I encourage all of you who live in or visit our county to prepare yourself, your family, and your home. If you have not already done so, please plan now for what officials predict will be another busy storm season.

Weather experts forecast 13 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. We know that it only takes one severe storm to have catastrophic impacts. Consider last year’s Hurricane Ian, which made landfall the morning of Sept. 28 on Florida’s southwest coast. Our neighbors in Lee and Collier counties continue their recovery.

Closer to home, we had an unprecedented storm impact in Broward on April 12. More than 4,000 homes and counting were significantly damaged by flooding. I walked door-to-door with the FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams in several heavily-damaged neighborhoods. Our Emergency Management team and I met with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) several times to collaborate with our municipalities on critical needs and provide available resources.

What I witnessed was heartbreaking. But with the support of state and federal governments, help began arriving almost immediately. Local and regional resources arrived to help our residents during their time of need.

Broward is resilient and strong, but more so when we prepare. Please take time to acquire the supplies you may need in the event of power interruptions and extreme conditions. Stay on top of weather forecasts and visit our county’s website at Broward.org/Hurricane for suggestions on how to plan for this year’s storm season.

Lamar P. Fisher, Pompano Beach

The writer is mayor of Broward County.