FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Pete Winton, Lee County Administration
              (239) 335-2777

COUNTY GETTING OUT HURRICANE INFO. THROUGH PRINT/TV/INTERNET

FORT MYERS, Fla. (June 9, 2003) - Lee County Government is providing a wide variety of information to residents interested in learning more about being prepared for hurricane season.

Print, Internet, and television is being used to get the message out about how important it is for residents to be ready in the event a storm heads toward Lee County.

Emergency Management Offices from around Southwest Florida have joined together to produce the 2003 edition of the All Hazards Guide. This in-depth guide covers what residents need to know to be prepared for any type of disaster from flooding to wildfires, with a particular emphasis on hurricanes.

The guide is available at the Lee County Emergency Operations Center on Ortiz Avenue, area libraries, fire departments, chambers of commerce, police stations, and post offices. The All Hazards Guide can be viewed on the county's web site at http://www.lee-ems.com/em/Complete%20Version%202003.pdf. Hurricane information, including up-to-date bulletins during hurricane season, can be accessed at Lee County's Public Safety website: www.lee-ems.com.

Lee County also is broadcasting information on its government access channel news and information program, Lee TV Newswrap. The program has tips on what residents should do before a hurricane arrives, what to take to a local shelter, and how to prepare their home for an impending storm.

Hurricane: Prepare to Survive, produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, looks at the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew and gives viewers a more detailed look at how to prepare for an approaching storm. This video runs at the end of Newswrap, which is broadcast at 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday on ComCast, channel 11, and Time Warner, channel 16.

Lee TV is also broadcasting hurricane prep information for both residents and local businesses and schedules for local hurricane seminars given by Lee County Emergency Management. This information will be broadcast on Lee TV's bulletin board system, which runs 24 hours a day in place of live or taped programming.

Lee TV's broadcast schedule can be viewed on the county's website at www.lee-county.com. Click on Information/Media Center and select Lee TV Schedule.