Florida Hosts National Hurricane Exercise for Emergency Officials

Florida has hosted a five-day national hurricane exercise to test the ability of state, local, federal and private emergency responders to communicate with each other.

Operation Radar II ended Friday at the Florida National Guard’s Camp Blanding Joint Training Center near Starke in north Florida.

About 500 participants from across the nation were on hand. The exercise scenario was a double dose of hurricanes within 10 days – one striking Florida’s east coast and the other the Gulf Coast.

The exercise focused on communications among local, regional, state, federal and private operations.

Gaps in communications systems and networks were evaluated. Also, field communications were addressed and determinations made on where to focus future efforts.

A similar exercise, Operation Radar I, was held in 2010.