Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia is telling Miami residents to skip the last-minute scramble and start hurricane prep now. At a Wednesday news conference in Miami, Ingoglia - flanked by local emergency officials - urged people to stock up on supplies, learn their evacuation zones and test their generators as the state launches a door-to-door preparedness push ahead of the June to November storm season.
Ingoglia laid out a quick-hit checklist at the podium: build a weeklong emergency kit, review your insurance, photograph valuables and do not drive through floodwaters. He also warned residents to double-check contractors and watch for storm-related scams, according to CBS12. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and emergency management officials backed him up, stressing that simple prep now can save lives and speed recovery later.
Statewide Tour Reaches Thousands
Ingoglia’s office says the Miami stop is part of a statewide preparedness tour that has rolled through multiple counties, handing out information to thousands of households. During one visit in Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s Department of Financial Services says its teams reached more than 4,000 households. "With only one week to go until hurricane season starts, Floridians should take the time now to prepare their homes and their families," Ingoglia said in a department release. The agency is also highlighting fraud prevention and its Consumer Services helpline for insurance and claims help.
Forecast Doesn’t Mean Safety
The NOAA Climate Prediction Center is calling for a below-normal Atlantic hurricane season in 2026, largely because a likely El Niño is expected to tamp down storm formation. But the agency keeps repeating the same warning: it only takes one hurricane to make a season dangerous. That is why state and local officials continue to press for full-scale preparedness even when long-range forecasts look quieter than the last few years.
Critics Call the Tour Political
The public outreach is not without controversy. Some Democrats accuse Ingoglia of using state resources to boost his political profile, arguing that the door-to-door effort looks more like campaigning than emergency planning, according to WPTV. Ingoglia has pushed back in interviews cited by the station, insisting the focus is on getting practical information in residents’ hands before any storm makes landfall.
How to Start Now
For anyone who has not started prepping, officials suggest a basic game plan: find your evacuation zone, stock water, food, batteries and medications for at least seven days, and stash copies of insurance documents in a dry, secure box. The Florida Division of Emergency Management’s Florida Division of Emergency Management site can help you look up county evacuation maps. The CFO’s office also recommends testing generators outdoors only, storing fuel safely, photographing your home in advance for potential claims and calling 1-877-MY-FL-CFO for insurance assistance, in line with the Florida Department of Financial Services’ preparedness materials.
Ingoglia says the goal is straightforward: fewer last-minute panics and faster recoveries when a storm hits, a message local officials echoed at the Miami briefing, according to CBS12. For Miami residents, that translates into a short to-do list right now - check your zone, secure your documents and fire up that generator test before the first warning bulletin ever pops up.
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