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🌪️ Upgraded Response Center: Okaloosa County invested $650,000 in surtax funds to upgrade its Emergency Operations Center with new technology to better manage storm response.
🗺️ Smarter Storm Tools: Residents can now report damage via a GIS-based map, speeding up disaster response and improving resource allocation.
📢 Clear Evacuation Plans: Officials emphasize early action in high-risk areas like Okaloosa Island, warning residents not to rely on social media rumors during storms.
NICEVILLE — With forecasters predicting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, Okaloosa County officials say they are more prepared than ever, thanks to major technology upgrades and a renewed focus on public communication and emergency readiness.
Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox said the county had spent the offseason upgrading its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) with $650,000 in voter-approved surtax dollars, improving everything from digital projectors to mobile boards that allow emergency staff to view live updates and resource deployment in real-time.
2025 Hurricane Season Forecast
“There is no year we don’t prepare like we’re going to get hit,” Maddox said. “Apathy and complacency are killers.”
The county recently held a full-scale readiness exercise to test its new systems. Maddox said the drill was “flawless,” with seamless integration between departments, improved information-sharing capabilities, and successful coordination with officials from the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
“Our stakeholders could view everything in real-time, we could toggle between screens and laptops, and all the systems communicated,” Maddox said. “That’s why this room exists — to share information quickly and efficiently.”
Officials also upgraded the county’s public-facing communication tools. During storms, residents can use the county’s GIS-integrated website to report damage directly on a map. The tool helps speed up damage assessments and can trigger federal and state disaster assistance.
Looking to past disasters for guidance, Maddox said his team studied the effects of last year’s hurricanes in Florida’s Big Bend region, including extensive flooding in Taylor County, to understand vulnerabilities better and improve local response plans.
“We watched how they moved resources and conducted rooftop rescues,” Maddox said. “It helps us plan what kind of equipment we need and how to deploy it effectively.”
As part of community outreach, the county recently held a hurricane expo to inform new residents and seniors about evacuation protocols and emergency alerts.
Maddox emphasized the importance of heeding official warnings, particularly in vulnerable areas like Okaloosa Island and Bluewater Bay.
“If I tell you to go, you’ve got to go,” Maddox said. “We don’t use terms like ‘mandatory evacuation’ lightly, but if there’s an unsurvivable storm surge, we’ll do what it takes to move people out.”
The county’s evacuation plans include phased departures, starting with tourists, and may involve rerouting southbound traffic on U.S. Highway 85 north if necessary.
Maddox also warned against relying on unreliable long-range weather models that spread on social media, calling them “clickbait” and “garbage journalism.”
“Pay attention to official news sources,” he said. “We don’t get on TV unless there’s something people really need to hear.”
Residents can sign up for alerts at disaster.gov and are encouraged to regularly rehearse their emergency plans, especially those involving children, elderly family members, or people with limited mobility.
For local updates, residents can sign up for a free alert system through Okaloosa County, which provides updates to their phones based on the location they register with.
To sign up for this service and find more information about what you and your family can do when disaster strikes, visit myokaloosa.com/emergency-management.
In Walton County, residents can sign up for the Alert Walton emergency notification program by clicking here.
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