NH State Employee Deploying to Florida to Assist in Hurricane Recovery

Concord, New Hampshire – An employee from the New Hampshire Department of Safety's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) will deploy to Tallahassee, Florida on Friday, October 7, to help with Hurricane Ian response and recovery efforts.

Community Outreach Coordinator Vanessa Palange will spend two weeks in Florida's Emergency Operations Center assisting with public information efforts.

Palange's work is anticipated to include interacting with the public, media, and other agencies; monitoring public information for accuracy; communicating and sharing information with officials; and sharing information and updates with the public through news media, radio, newspaper, and social media.

"New Hampshire stands with the people of Florida during this tough time," said Governor Chris Sununu. "Volunteers from our state have already been on the ground since the beginning, and we remain committed to offering our resources to help those in desperate need."

This is the first deployment of State of New Hampshire resources to Florida to help with Hurricane Ian.

The deployment is part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a national contract that provides disaster relief when a governor declares a state of emergency. Requests for assistance can include equipment, personnel, or goods. Florida's Division of Emergency Management made the request to other states' emergency management agencies for public information officers on October 3.

"The ability to help others during a time of crisis is a key component of emergency management," Palange said. "I am grateful to be given the opportunity to help our partners in Florida and look forward to bringing any lessons I learn back to New Hampshire to better our communications and response at HSEM."

Members of the media who wish to speak with Palange about her deployment experience can contact her via email at Vanessa.L.Palange@dos.nh.gov or by phone at (603) 545-9499.