The nonprofit Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. named Chatham County, Georgia as the first community in Georgia, and the third in the U.S., to receive the honorary designation as a #HurricaneStrong community. The program is an extension of the National Hurricane Resilience Initiative - #HurricaneStrong created in 2016 to improve preparedness, mitigation, and overall readiness through increased public awareness and engagement.

The FLASH partnership chose the county of nearly 300,000 for the designation based on several criteria, including leadership engagement, excellent rankings on the ISO Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule, achievement of the National Weather Service StormReady Community designation, and a positive Community Rating System score. The CRS score reflects floodplain management effectiveness and qualifies approximately 12,000 local residents for a 25% annual discount on their flood insurance policies, which is an average of $255 per flood policy or just over $3M community-wide.

Flood safety outreach programs earned high marks for the county as well. Since 1998, FLASH and Chatham County have joined forces with the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, CEMA, GEMA, FEMA, and many others to host an annual hurricane preparedness expo at The Home Depot. The county conducts year-round education programs at community events, homeowner's associations, and schools as well.

"On behalf of the more than 100 partners of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, we are proud to recognize Chatham County's leadership for their commitment to advancing disaster resilience," said FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson. "As we witness the ongoing losses of Hurricane Florence, we see additional evidence that state and local leaders can make a positive difference before disaster strikes. We look forward to our continued partnership."

Since 2016, the #HurricaneStrong campaign helped increase public safety and reduce economic losses from hurricanes by reaching tens of millions of residents in hurricane-exposed states with five key messages, including:

• Personal Safety - Know your evacuation zone

• Family Preparedness - Build a disaster supply kit

• Financial Security - Have an insurance checkup

• Damage Prevention - Strengthen your home

• Community Service - Help your neighbor

Leon County, FL earned the first #HurricaneStrong Community designation in March of 2018. Miami-Dade County was the second in June.