Indian River County is a StormReady Community

Indian River County is has been Designated "StormReady" by the National Weather Service. Being a StormReady community provides our residents, business owners, and visitors confidence knowing that we are committed to safety and preparedness by meeting the established guidelines for certification.

StormReady is a nationwide program that helps communities better protect their citizens during severe weather–from tornadoes to tsunamis. The program encourages communities to take a proactive approach to improving local hazardous weather operations. StormReady provides emergency managers with clear-cut guidelines on how to improve their hazardous weather operations.

Nearly 90% of all presidentially declared disasters are weather related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $14 billion in damage. To help Americans guard against the ravages of severe weather, the National Weather Service (NWS) has designed the StormReady program. StormReady arms America's communities with the communication and safety skills they need to save lives and property.

To be certified as StormReady, communities must meet guidelines established by the NWS in partnership with federal, state, and local emergency management professionals. The StormReady program is intended to:

• Improve the timeliness and effectiveness of hazardous weather warnings for the public.


• Provide detailed and clear recommendations which will help local emergency managers establish and improve effective hazardous weather operations.


• Help local emergency managers justify costs and purchases needed to support their hazardous weather-related program.


• Reward local hazardous-weather mitigation programs that have achieved a desired performance level.


• Provide a means of acquiring additional Community Rating System points assigned by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).


• Provide an "image incentive" to communities, which once certified, can identify themselves as StormReady.


• Encourage the enhancement of hazardous weather preparedness programs in jurisdictions surrounding StormReady communities and counties.

The Indian River County Emergency Management staff is pleased that we have once again met all the requirements of being designated a StormReady community!