Brevard County sheriff’s deputies trained alongside 40 other Florida sheriff’s offices in a three-day hurricane preparedness event starting May 1. The Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) hosted the drills at the Florida Highway Patrol Training Center in Gainesville, bringing together nearly 100 law enforcement officials to practice disaster response tactics. The session focused on coordinating search-and-rescue operations, managing emergency shelters, and securing critical infrastructure during hurricanes.
Participants included deputies from Brevard’s 10 municipalities, including Melbourne, Cocoa, and Titusville. The training emphasized real-world scenarios, such as responding to downed power lines, flooded roadways, and displaced residents. One exercise simulated a Category 3 hurricane making landfall near Cape Canaveral, forcing teams to deploy mobile command units and coordinate with state emergency management.
Brevard Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Maria Lopez said the drills are part of annual planning for the region’s hurricane season. “We practice twice a year to ensure our teams can move quickly when storms hit,” she said. The training included hands-on practice with drones, watercraft, and communication systems designed for low-bandwidth environments.
The event also covered protocols for interacting with federal agencies like the Coast Guard and FEMA. Deputies from Monroe County, which faces similar storm risks, shared strategies for evacuating barrier islands. The FSA said the training will be followed by a second session in June focused on cyberattacks and power grid failures.
Local officials highlighted the importance of preparedness after Hurricane Ian caused $1.5 billion in damage across the state in 2022. Brevard’s 2023 hurricane drill identified gaps in medical supply distribution, which the latest training aimed to address. The exercises concluded May 3 with a report to the Florida Division of Emergency Management.