Miami Beach Mayor Steven Minor urged residents Thursday to prepare for the Atlantic hurricane season, saying the city has strengthened emergency preparations, improved communications and built partnerships with Florida Power & Light to reduce outages and speed recovery.

"Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. Storm surge and flooding remain the greatest threats to life and property in coastal areas like ours," Mayor Steven Minor said. "That's why I have strengthened the city of Miami Beach's emergency preparedness, improved communication tools, and built strong partnerships with Florida Power and Light, FPL, to harden our infrastructure, reduce outages, and accelerate recovery in the event of a storm."

The announcement laid out steps the city is taking and actions residents should take. Minor said the city will provide free sandbags at the start of the storm season, keep its public works control room staffed 24 hours a day during storms, and coordinate response with Miami-Dade County, the state of Florida and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "Our city teams are fully trained, equipped, and on standby before, during, and after a storm," he said.

Residents were directed to sign up for the city's emergency alert system by texting "mbalert" to 888777, which the mayor called "the fastest way to receive real time updates directly from the city." Minor also advised households to have an evacuation plan, arrange inland lodging if necessary, build a storm kit with water, canned food, medications, batteries, flashlights and pet supplies, and to check on neighbors, especially elderly residents.

Minor said municipal parking garages will be opened to beach residents as needed and provided a phone number for reporting flooding: (305) 673-7625. He emphasized coordination with Florida Power & Light (FPL) to harden infrastructure and reduce outage time but did not provide contract or funding details during the remarks.

The mayor's comments were presented as an executive communication and not as a formal city commission action; no motion or vote accompanied the announcement. The city encouraged residents to visit miamibeachfl.gov and search "emergency preparedness" for more resources.

"Let's be proactive, not reactive. Let's lead with preparedness," Minor said. "We are ready. Thank you for doing your part, and stay safe, Miami Beach."