LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Officials around Central Florida are monitoring recent tropical activity. Chances remain moderate for a tropical system to develop near Florida’s east coast. The system could face many potential paths, including the Gulf of Mexico, or more out to sea in the Atlantic.

Central Florida Emergency Management teams are thinking ahead on how to handle the potential crisis.

On July 30, Lake County Emergency Management hosted a training session dedicated to establishing expectations for a wide variety of incident responses. That way, when something happens, they’re ready to jump in and help. 

“Our focus is to provide coordination and collaboration across agencies, partners and different parts of the county,” Emergency Management Director for Lake County Megan Milanese said.   

Milanese says when an incident occurs, she wants to make sure her team has a coordinated response. 

“These are rapidly evolving situations, these are situations that change very quickly,” Milanese said. 

New monitors at the center will help play a role in keeping track of how Lake County responds to an incident. 

“We can track the storm’s progression, or we can look at how many shelters we have open and their census. We can look at the number of sandbags we’ve distributed, and this is all data we can enter into our different visuals,” Milanese said. 

In Rockledge, the team in Brevard County is getting used to new technology as well. 

Their new emergency operations center includes a 140-seat command center, a permanent 911 communication center, a cafeteria, and much more. 

These new additions will help the team get ready for long shifts.

“It’s really about making sure the accommodations match the service that we’re providing our citizens. We’ve been able to do that with the new facility,” Public Information Officer for Brevard County government Rachel Horst said. 

Because at the end of the day, all it takes is a little bit of time to make a plan. 

“We really want to make sure our residents and visitors are prepared, not preparing,” Horst said. 

Volusia County is thinking ahead too. Officials recently launched the Volusia emergency management app. 

That gives residents resources to stay informed before, during, and after an emergency.