TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Hurricane season is something the Florida Division of Emergency Management thinks about all year.

The agency always considers different ways to improve messaging and reduce recovery times. Now, ahead of the 2025 hurricane season, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said the state is investing in new technology to keep people safe.

“We want to be ready,” Guthrie said.

The FDEM executive director knows it only takes one storm to upend a community. To help keep people safe, Florida is the first state in the nation to have a network using AI-based public safety messaging technology. The voice-to-text system uses radio stations statewide and the BEACON safety messaging app to broadcast important alerts.

“This is going to be a central point that we can send all of that messaging to, and it’s on a constant loop as people would want to listen to it,” Guthrie said.

Guthrie said this will help get the message out to people faster.

“We’ve got to be as fast as we can, and have the most accurate information we can. We need to help control that message so people don’t get a snippet,” he said.

Guthrie said every county in the state is part of the network. The city of High Springs in North Central Florida was one of the first communities to use the new technology, according to city spokesperson, Kevin Mangan.

“The important part about our job as public safety communicators is getting the right information to the right people at the right time. This project BEACON enables us to do that. It’s another tool in the toolbox,” Mangan said.

The state is also looking at more flood prevention during the storms. Last year was the first time the state put dams around critical infrastructure like power substations and wastewater treatment plants, and it worked during every storm.

“We’re to help mitigate the impacts of a disaster. The impacts of a disaster, in this case, is flood or storm surge. It’s not realistic to think we’re going to be able to elevate every home, every business, two, three or four feet,” Guthrie said.

The state has several resources online to help people make a plan for this hurricane season. You can find that information here.

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