Flood Threat Information

The Office of Emergency Management notifies the public in flooding threat matters based on criteria established by:

• FEMA
• Army Corp of Engineers
• Osceola County Public Works Stormwater
• City of Kissimmee
• City of Saint Cloud
• South Florida Water Management District
• National Weather Service River Forecast Center
• Public request

Threat criteria exist in two stages. They are the threat stage and action stage.

Threat Stage

The threat stage is established as a minimum of 1 foot below the established historical flood mark for a given area or rainfall forecast and accumulation approaches a given point.

During the threat stage, the Office of Emergency Management communicates with the National Weather Service for consultation and evaluation that may result in public notification or warning dissemination. A Flood Threat Notification is issued prior to a warning and a WARNING is issued when conditions are imminent (within 24 hours) or occurring resulting in immediate measures.

The Office of Emergency Management notifies the public using:

• Alert Osceola (Text and email based alerts)
• Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)
• Emergency Alert System (EAS)
• Public Safety mobile alerting – Vehicles drive through the warned area
• Webpage updates
  • www.readyosceola.org
  • www.osceola.org
  • flood.osceola.org
  • SFWMD Real Time Lake Levels (South FL Water Management District)
  • USGS Real Time Data (U.S. Geological Survey)
• NWS NOAA Weather Radio

Action Stage

Evacuation from a potential flood inundation area occurs when the action stage alarm is sounded. Citizens must prepare to leave their residence ahead of the warning stage. Instructions are disseminated in the alert and warning process.

Familiarize yourself with the Flood Evacuation Maps for evacuation routes. All routes should be verified by the warned resident prior to departing. The verification process occurs by way of the alert message. Always be safe and remember – Turn Around, Don't Drown!