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Nassau County leaders answer questions about hurricane preps during pandemic

Shelters, debris pick up, evacuations may all be different this hurricane season

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, at 9:40 a.m. EDT., and provided by NOAA, shows Hurricane Isaias over the Bahamas. Hurricane Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday and headed toward the Florida coast, where officials said they were closing beaches, parks and coronavirus testing sites. (NOAA via AP) (Uncredited)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – “We were lucky, but Hurricane Isaias was a warmup for Nassau County,” according to Nassau’s Emergency Management Director Greg Foster.

While Isaias stayed offshore as it skirted the Northeast Florida coastline, we saw just how lucky we were as our friends and neighbors to the north took the impact of the storm when it made landfall.

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Foster said it is a good time to revisit what everyone should do to prepare for the next storm during this active hurricane season and the pandemic, so they offered a roundtable Friday afternoon to answer questions.

Watch the Nassau Emergency Management roundtable

Posted by Nassau EM on Friday, August 7, 2020

I moderated the program and the panelists included Nassau County Emergency Management Director Greg Foster; Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, Al Sandrik, who previously worked for the National Hurricane Center; Nassau County Public Works Director, Doug Podiak; and Jeffrey Bunch with the Nassau County School District.

Residents were invited to submit questions for any of the panelists. Even though the session is over questions can still be sent to EOC.PublicInfo@NassauFLEM.com.

“When we began to recognize the additional consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the escalation in mental health and behavioral issues, we produced our Mental Health Roundtable with local experts to provide answers and resources for our residents,” Foster said.

The live June 12 broadcast was seen by thousands in Nassau, Duval and other parts of the country and has been shared widely through its YouTube channel.