3/10/23 @ 9:00 a.m.

It's Flood Awareness Week in Nassau County, Florida. Each day, we will share a tip on protecting yourself and your property from flood damage.

DAY FIVE: BUILD RESPONSIBLY
Build responsibly. Avoid building in floodplains. Before you build, find out what the regulations are and what permits are required. Be aware of substantial improvement rules, which are there to correct structures built before regulations and flood mapping. These apply when a structure is below a known base flood elevation plus freeboard.

​For more information, visit https://library.municode.com/fl/nassau_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COORNACOFL_CH10_1-2FLMA

3/9/23 @ 9:00 a.m.

It's Flood Awareness Week in Nassau County, Florida. Each day, we will share a tip on protecting yourself and your property from flood damage.

DAY FOUR: PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY
Protect your property from flood hazards. Insurance is your first level of protection. Other methods include installing flood vents where appropriate or raising electrical system components. For more information on how to protect your property, visit: https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/products-tools/know-your-risk/homeowners-renters  

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

3/8/23 @ 10:00 a.m. - Stay safe. Intense or excessive rainfall can overtop canals and ditches, flooding streets. Remember to turn around, don't drown! Driving through flooded streets can stall your car and cause wave action to move structures along the road. 

Prepare ahead and make a flood emergency plan today. Visit the National Water Service page dedicated to this topic. 

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

3/7/23 @ 9:15 a.m. - It's Flood Awareness Week in Nassau County, Florida. Each day, we will share a tip on protecting yourself and your property from flood damage.

DAY TWO: FLOOD INSURANCE
Flood insurance is available to everyone, regardless of whether you rent, own or have a business, and it's even available if you are not in mapped floodplain. 

Floods can happen anywhere and just one inch of water can cause up to $25,000 in damage. Most homeowners insurance policies do not cover flood damage. Flood insurance is a separate policy that can cover buildings, the contents in a building, or both. It's up to you to ensure you have a policy in place to protect your assets. 

Learn more at ​www.fema.gov/flood-insurance.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

3/6/23 @ 11:40 a.m. - It's Flood Awareness Week in Nassau County, Florida. Each day, we will share a tip on protecting yourself and your property from flood damage. 

DAY ONE: KNOW YOUR HAZARD
Did you know that many areas in Nassau County are prone to some amount of flooding from excessive rainfall or tidal influences? Property owners need to know their flood risk. This can be found at ​https://msc.fema.gov/portal/home or ​https://maps.nassauflpa.com/portal/apps/sites/?fromEdit=true#/mapgallery

Maximize your flood preparedness and recovery by visiting FEMAs Know Your Risk webpage which provides specific information for homeowners, renters, and business owners including information on resiliency and activities to help reduce your risk. 

-Sabrina Robertson 
 Public Information Officer

3/3/23 @ 12:55 P.M.
​We are so grateful to have been able to participate in a trail derailment/hazmat exercise this week. We appreciate the efforts of Nassau County Emergency Management, CSX Transportation and all the other agencies that have worked hard for the last year to coordinate this event. Below is a summary of the training written by Nassau County Emergency Management. We've also added a handful of photos we captured during the 3-day exercise. 

SUMMARY FROM NASSAU COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 
This week CSX Transportation came to Nassau County to train first responders on how to handle railcar hazmat incidents. This training took almost a year to plan and execute, so we are grateful to CSX for making this happen! We would also like to extend a special thanks to Blue Linx for being the host site location; none of this would have been possible without their partnership.

Nassau County Fire Rescue, Baker County Fire Rescue, City of Fernandina Beach Fire Department, Kingsland Fire Department, Kings Bay Fire Department, Camden County Fire Rescue, and Charlton County Fire Rescue all participated in the training from CSX. In total, 70 firefighters received hands on training to better prepare them for a real world incident in our region.

While they were training in the field, the EOC ran a tabletop exercise to test our capabilities if this was to happen in Nassau County. Phil Eddins, from PEP Training Solutions, facilitated this exercise and challenged us to think through the different aspects of response including public information, traffic and evacuation plans, public health, and more!

We would like to thank all of the stakeholders that came to participate and observe in this exercise - Our Board of County Commissioners, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office, Nassau County Fire Rescue, Nassau County Health Department, Baptist Medical Centers, UF Health, City of Fernandina Beach Fire Department, City of Fernandina Beach Police Department, The National Weather Service, Camden County Emergency Management, Baker County Emergency Management, and all the county employees that would fill our incident management team positions during an incident -This whole community approach is essential to the successful response and recovery of an incident like this.

PUBLIC INFORMATION RELEASE – 02/23/2023
​
CONTACT:MARTHA L. OBERDORFER, MPH, FPEM DEPUTY DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
NASSAU COUNTY EOC
E-MAIL:NCEM@NASSAUSO.COM
FACEBOOK:NASSAUEM

Nassau EM Welcomes CSX Responder Incident Training Exercise

Nassau County Emergency Management (NCEM) will hold a multi-agency tabletop emergency response exercise in their Emergency Operations Center (EOC) February 28 – March 1. NCEM Director, Tim Cooper, is pleased to announce it will include a four-day hands-on “train derailment and hazardous materials response” training opportunity for local firefighters. The CSX Responder Incident Training (RIT) train is a specialized, hands-on training program that provides first responders with insights on how rail cars work and how to respond safely to rail-related incidents. CSX provides emergency planning assistance and training at no cost to fire, police, and other emergency response personnel in the communities they serve, but this is the first time this training will be offered in Nassau.

NCEM is responsible for the County’s disaster preparedness. The NCEM staff writes plans for and organizes exercises of county response operations for all types of natural and man-made hazards. Although the planning for this training and exercise began almost a year ago, recent railroad derailments in the news have been a stark reminder of the importance of preparedness for any incident. “Thanks to our partnerships with CSX Transportation and the BlueLinx Corporation,” Director Cooper said, “we are fortunate to have this derailment and hazmat training in our community.”

​The training will take place on private property; therefore, attendance will be limited to personnel participating in the hands-on activities. County leadership and media representatives who wish to observe the training should contact the Nassau EOC at 904-548-0900 to request access.

2/9/23 @ 9:15 a.m. - Earlier this year, the Association of State Floodplain Managers built the Reduce Flood Risk website to assist property owners in reducing flood risks. The website allows you to access information tailored to your situation and needs. By answering a series of questions, Reduce Flood Risk can help you identify strategies most likely to protect your home or business from flooding in the future.  

Below is a quick demonstration video which shows you how to navigate the site. 

Stay tuned in March for additional tips as we recognize Flood Awareness Week. 

#ReduceFloodRisk

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer

11/18/22 @ 9:00 am. 

5 lucky dogs and 1 lucky cat were able to leave the shelter yesterday to spend some time with the nice folks at Nassau County Emergency Management. The dogs got to play in the grass and gave lots of kisses to the staff. The sweet little kitty, Tofu, was also a big hit with the staff and she enjoyed snuggling with the ladies in the office. Ans we are super excited to announce that she found a new home with Martha! Thank you Martha for adopting her and giving her a furever home.

If you are interested in adopting a pet, please visit Nassau County Animal Services located at 86078 License Road (across from Target). The are open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11am-5pm; Wednesdays from 1pm-7pm; Fridays from 11am-5pm; and Saturdays from 11am-4pm. 

If you have any questions, you can reach Animal Services at (904) 530-6150.

-Sabrina Robertson
 Public Information Officer