TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — As first responders continue search-and-rescue operations in areas hit hard by Hurricane Ian, the state of Florida has set up a website for residents to report themselves safe from the storm.
Chief Information Officer Jamie Grant said that the state’s new website, safe.FL.gov, allows residents to report themselves or someone else safe after the hurricane.
Grant said the website allows the state to efficiently direct resources to look for those who are still missing by marking certain individuals as safe.
“That means that a body, a team, a person doesn’t actually have to review and go out and respond and can get to the right place more quickly,” he said.
The website is run in conjunction with missing.FL.gov, which allows people to report individuals who went missing in the hurricane’s aftermath. Grant said 74 cases were reported to ESF 4 and 9 through this portal.
With both websites in operation, the state will be able to clear out the missing person records in a faster manner.
Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said 17 urban search-and-rescue teams out in the field have put out 45,000 waypoints. He said he is confident that every address has been checked at least once.
“I’m not saying we’re not going to find anybody else,” he said. “I don’t want to put that context out. We may find other people, but here’s the thing, we believe we have searched very quickly. Now we’re going back and doing that technical search by address.”
