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Florida: Local Resources

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FDEM: two dedicated preparedness campaigns a year

The Florida Division of Emergency Management runs public outreach at two fixed points on the calendar: Florida Hurricane Preparedness Week (the first full week of May, ahead of hurricane season) and Florida Preparedness Month (September, the traditional peak of hurricane activity). Both center on the same three-part framework.

FDEM's own three-part framework

Know Your Risk (understand your specific hazards, including whether your address sits in a storm surge evacuation zone), Make a Plan (a household-specific plan accounting for children, pets, and seniors), and Build a Kit (enough non-perishable food, water, medicine, and supplies for at least 7 days per person, longer than the 3-day minimum some other states’ campaigns cite).

Where to find it: floridadisaster.org is FDEM’s central hub, including an address-lookup tool for evacuation zones.

UF/IFAS Extension: Florida’s version of USU/OSU/UC ANR/Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences runs the same category of program as every other state’s land-grant Extension service covered on this site, delivered through county Extension offices statewide.

  • Florida Master Gardener Program: requires 50+ hours of initial training (exact hours vary by county) followed by a University of Florida/IFAS exam, then 75 volunteer hours and 10 continuing-education hours in the first year to earn full certification, a heavier ongoing commitment than some other states’ Master Gardener programs.

Where to find it: sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu lists the Master Gardener program by county; contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office directly for the current schedule and cost.

CERT: county-based, with active statewide coordination

Florida’s CERT programs originate at the county level, the same decentralized structure as Texas’s, but with more active statewide coordination layered on top: Volunteer Florida administers CERT funding in partnership with FEMA and FDEM, and the Florida CERT Association runs an annual statewide conference connecting individual county teams.

What this means in practice

Some counties run more than one CERT program. Rather than one single statewide entry point, start with Volunteer Florida’s CERT page, which is built specifically to route you to the right local program, or search “[your county] CERT” directly if you already know your county.

Where to find it: volunteerflorida.org/cert; the Florida CERT Association at flacertassociation.org lists member teams statewide.

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