Program Description
Education is the first line of defense against dangerous and potentially catastrophic weather events such as hurricanes. Teaching young people is an essential step in informing families about the vital types of preparation needed to prevent damage to property and, most importantly, protect people against injury and save lives.
StormZone, instituted in 2006 in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County Public Schools, is a classroom-based outreach educational program designed specifically for middle and high schools that helps students understand the importance of advance preparation when confronting severe weather emergencies.
StormZone provides science teachers with a unique multidisciplinary FCAT-compliant curriculum that covers the science of hurricanes and the role of emergency management during a weather crisis.
Following the curriculum, students reconfigure their classroom to represent an Emergency Operations Center. They form their own civic government by electing a Mayor and appointing an Emergency Manager.
The remaining students are designated to carry out specific emergency management functions (ESF) such as fire-fighting, law enforcement, public information, housing and shelter, energy services, health and medical care, food and water, transportation and communications that are critical to planning, preparation and recovery from a severe weather event.
Specific challenges are presented that the students must solve, instilling the importance of teamwork that is vital to emergency management. As each challenge is completed, the students coordinating the simulation review how they resolved the problems.
Following the curriculum teaching and classroom simulation exercise, students receive a take-home Family Hurricane Preparedness Plan handout that instructs families on how to prepare for a dangerous weather event such as a hurricane.
EOC & In-School Reinactments
A In addition to these classroom activities, approximately 40 school students from each district reenact their classroom exercise at the local Emergency Operations Center. At the EOC, students take the seats of the adult Mayor, Emergency Manager and Emergency Support Functions (ESF) to experience what actually transpires “behind the scenes” during a severe weather emergency.
As a result of this hands-on experience, students learn about the EOC’s organizational teamwork and management skills that are required to deal with a dangerous weather event.
During these simulations, students conduct a variety of problem-solving exercises; they are presented with emergency situations that require the participation of all the officials and the emergency support personnel to ensure the safety of community residents and achieve a full post-storm recovery.
For instance, the student Mayor conducts a press conference before the storm hits to inform student reporters on preparedness measures being taken, and another after the storm has passed in order to assess the damage sustained by the city and to outline recovery efforts.
To provide a venue for the entire middle or high school, the simulation may be reenacted in the school’s gymnasium or auditorium. The same configuration in the classroom and the EOC is arranged at one of these venues. This option allows the school to invite the local Mayor, Emergency Manager, American Red Cross and others to speak to the attending students while the simulation is being conducted.
In addition to the simulation, the in-school option also showcases the Hurricane-Resistant House Demonstration where student teams construct houses using specified paper and plastic materials to determine the strength of the structures against hurricane-force winds using an electrical or gas-powered leaf blower. Students who built the strongest houses – or any that remain standing – receive prizes.
