2006 - 2010 Student Simulations

If you were a middle or high school student in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County, chances are your 2006 - 2010 hurricane seasons were actually inundated with powerful storms with names like Jamie, Monica, Jason, Christa, Linda and Zack. Throughout peak hurricane season (September-October), students coordinated emergency management exercises in their classrooms as a result of StormZone, a school-based educational program that helps students understand the importance of advance preparation when confronted with a natural disaster such as a hurricane. The experience helped them learn the importance of individual responsibility, organizational collaboration and project management skills.

Students formed their own civic government by electing a mayor and appointing an emergency manager. The remaining students were designated to carry out specific emergency management functions such as housing and shelter, energy services, fire fighting, law enforcement, health and medical care, food and water, transportation and public information that are critical to preparing for and recovering from a hurricane.

They then simulated a variety of problem-solving exercises that required the participation of all of the "city's" officials and the emergency support personnel. At the conclusion of the exercise, the student mayor conducted a press conference to inform student reporters on preparedness measures that were taken prior to the storm and recovery efforts after its passage.

Several fortunate students then visited the local county emergency management centers to reenact their classroom experience where they problem-solved critical situations such as saving senior citizens in a high rise on a heavily populated island who were stranded due to a damaged bridge… and dealing with a hospital that was heavily over-crowded with injured hurricane victims.
Other students needed to put out a fire in a shelter and transport 1,000 people to other shelters. As soon as the problem was resolved, an overturned truck on a major evacuation route left thousands of motorists stranded. Gas from the truck was spilling all over the road; people were overheated and thirsty; and several fights erupted due to short tempers.

Students needed to save people trapped under a collapsed building. In the meantime, road was washed away by Zack's early rain bands, requiring the students to direct motorists to an alternative evacuation route. After Zack's passage, the students faced equally challenging emergencies such as a crop duster crash in Lake Okeechobee, a collapsed roof at an animal shelter and a dangerous chlorine leak at a water treatment plant.

"The StormZone simulations provide students with an excellent education into how emergency operations centers function and illustrate the importance of communication, teamwork, local responders and being prepared," said Bay Proby, StormZone Director "We were very pleased with the response from the school districts," said Proby.