Leaders in Seminole County are getting ready for hurricane season by holding the largest hurricane exercise in county history.
The preparation drill began Wednesday morning, which marks the first day of the 2016 Hurricane Season.
"This is it. This is the only practice we have until there is a real hurricane," said Emergency Manager Alan Harris.
Spearheaded by the county's Emergency Operations Center, the exercise was part of a coordinated effort involving volunteers, shelters and distribution centers.
"We have a lot of players here. Government, non-profit, private organizations all working together as they would during a real hurricane," said Harris.
Officials said the "Hurricane Shirley" exercise was designed to simulate a similar scenario as Hurricane Charley in 2004.
The drill gave participants an opportunity to validate debris management plans, disaster housing, points of distribution, and sheltering plans.
Officials said the focus "Hurricane Shirley" was on key local, private, and non-profit emergency responder coordination, critical decisions, and the integration of local, State and Federal assets necessary to save lives and protect public health following a natural disaster.
"The systems that we test today, some of them will work great. Some of them will need to be fixed and that is OK. We want to be perfect when a real hurricane hits," said Harris.
The forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for 10 to 16 named storms in 2016 with four to eight hurricanes. Officials predict up to four hurricanes to be classified as at least a category three, which means sustained winds of more than 110 mph.