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The state is testing new technology that will help first responders focus their efforts. The state’s Emergency Operation Center can now receive images of neighborhoods in harms way and as Whitney Ray tell us, just minutes after the storm hits, the center will receive picture of damaged areas.

First responders are preparing for a historic storm… a Category 4 hurricane that hit Miami in 1926. Unlike emergency crews during the Great Miami Hurricane, Today’s first responders have technology on their side.

A new Smart Board utilizes Google Maps to show pictures of neighborhoods in harms way. Then just minutes after the storm hits, the Emergency Operations Center will be able to download pictures of the damage.

“It gives us ground truth of what has actually taken place and helps us figure out where supplies need to go,” said Ben Nelson the state meteorologist.

And when the message is sent to people in the field there is more assurance it will be received.

“Obviously everyone has a cell phone but as we know in storms what happens with phones, they go down, so we have a satellite phone to back system, now we have a radio system to back up that technology,” said David Halstead, the Deputy Director of the Division of Emergency Management.

Emergency workers can only do so much. They’re asking Floridians to take matters into their own hands and come up with a plan for hurricane season.

According to a new Mason-Dixon poll more than half of Floridians don’t have a disaster plan. The EOC has also doubled its number of work stations and training space to allow more agencies access to the center during a storm.