Photo Gallery – 2008

Hurricane Jaime came barreling into Miami-Dade County, leaving a path of destruction behind him. When Jaime hit on Thursday, November 13, 2008, 50 students from Eugenia E. Thomas Middle and South Dade Senior High School had to resolve numerous problems - many life threatening - through joint effort and hard work at the Miami-Dade County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Jaime, a category 3 when it came ashore, left a hospital overcrowded with storm victims; elderly residents stranded in a high rise on a heavily populated island; and severe flooding threatening hundreds of people left stranded in their homes and in need of immediate evacuation. Students participating in the annual exercise at the EOC proved that they could work together to bring their city back to normalcy… without any fatalities.

Thirty science students from Christa McAuliffe Middle School had their hands full on Thursday, October 30, 2008, when they conducted a hurricane preparedness simulation at the Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Center to prepare for and recover from the wrath of fictitious Hurricane Christa who swept through their community. Throughout the exercise the students were confronted with a collection of problems, many critical, that they needed to resolve as a result of category 3 Hurricane Christa. The exercise helped the students understand the importance of advance preparation when confronted with a natural disaster such as a hurricane and how to recover from the destructive nature of such a powerful storm. Flooding, fires, collapsed buildings, stranded motorists and an oil spill were among the students' problem-solving tasks. Through teamwork and an understanding of the role of emergency management, the students got the job done!