Tallahassee Public Safety

Two separate emergency management offices share the job: the City of Tallahassee runs its own Division of Emergency Management, and Leon County government runs a second division for the county as a whole.

The City of Tallahassee Division of Emergency Management was established in 1992 to coordinate the City's departmental response to emergencies, and it works with County, State and Federal agencies (City of Tallahassee Emergency Management). The Leon County Division of Emergency Management coordinates emergency management activities and programs within the county and serves as liaison to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (Leon County Emergency Management). The county page lists Kevin Peters as Emergency Management Director, at 850-606-3700 (Leon County Emergency Management).

The county's Public Safety Complex address, 911 Easterwood Drive, is also the address the Tallahassee Fire Department gives for itself (Tallahassee Fire Department; Leon County Emergency Management). For time-sensitive messages about severe weather and evacuations, Leon County offers Leon Alerts by email or phone, and it calls its Citizens Connect App its best source for emergency news and alerts (Leon County Emergency Management).

The City of Tallahassee's emergency page gives preparedness advice for hurricanes and tropical storms, floods, wildfires and power outages, next to sections on mosquito safety and computer security (City of Tallahassee Emergency Management).

The city calls tropical storms and hurricanes one of Tallahassee's most dangerous weather threats, and says that because Tallahassee is not a coastal community it does not have to worry as much about storm surge (City of Tallahassee Emergency Management). The page adds that about 50 mph winds can knock out power for an extended period because of the large number of trees in the city (City of Tallahassee Emergency Management). Its power outage advice includes keeping a car tank at least half full because gas stations rely on electricity to run their pumps (City of Tallahassee Emergency Management).

For wildfire, the city page advises Tallahassee households to plant fire resistant shrubs and trees, noting that hardwood trees are less flammable than pine and evergreen trees, and to use roofing such as composition, metal or tile, since roofs are the most vulnerable part of a home (City of Tallahassee Emergency Management). The severe weather preparedness guide in this section goes deeper on hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding in Florida's capital, and the weather section covers past storms one at a time.

FEMA lists the City of Tallahassee and Leon County as two flood insurance communities, 120144 and 120143, and both carry Community Rating System class 5 (FEMA NFIP Community Status Book, City of Tallahassee (120144)).

Source for the table: FEMA NFIP Community Status Book, City of Tallahassee (120144) and FEMA NFIP Community Status Book, Leon County (120143). Inside the city, the City of Tallahassee says to check with its Growth Management Department before building on, altering, regrading or placing fill on a property (City of Tallahassee Flood Awareness).

The two official sources do not describe the program the same way today. Leon County's flood page, last updated October 7, 2025, says the National Flood Insurance Program was temporarily paused as of September 30, 2025, pending action by Congress, that existing policies stay in effect until their expiration date, and that private flood insurance is not affected (Leon County Flood Information). FEMA's Community Status Book records for Tallahassee and Leon County, last refreshed in August 2026, list both communities as participating in the NFIP (FEMA NFIP Community Status Book, City of Tallahassee (120144); FEMA NFIP Community Status Book, Leon County (120143)). The county page also says Leon County keeps enforcing local floodplain regulations during any pause (Leon County Flood Information). The flood zones guide explains how to look up a FEMA flood map for a Tallahassee or Leon County address.

Inside the city, ditch debris and dumping go to the City of Tallahassee Streets and Drainage Division at 850-891-5300; Leon County's flood page lists 850.606.1300 and sends storm drain dumping reports to Code Enforcement at 606-1300.

The City of Tallahassee asks residents to report dumping or debris in ditches to the Streets and Drainage Division of the Public Works Department, says dumping in ditches and streams violates City Ordinance Sec. 21-607, and describes a stream maintenance program that can help remove major blockage such as downed trees (City of Tallahassee Flood Awareness). Building or filling without a posted City permit sign goes to the Environmental Services Division of the Growth Management Department at 850-891-7150 (City of Tallahassee Flood Awareness). The city flood page also links the Northwest Florida Water Management District flood information portal for detail on flooding at a given address (City of Tallahassee Flood Awareness).

Leon County's flood page says only rainwater may drain into storm drains in streets, curbs and rights of way, and asks people who see dumping of any liquid or material into county storm drains or waters to call Leon County Code Enforcement at 606-1300 (Leon County Flood Information). The same page gives a contact at 435 North Macomb Street, 2nd Floor, with phone 850.606.1300, and offers online tools to report and track a flooding or drainage issue (Leon County Flood Information).

The state does not inspect possible sinkholes, so a Tallahassee homeowner calls law enforcement if anyone could be hurt, a certified home inspector or foundation specialist for an assessment, and the Florida Geological Survey helpline at 850-245-2118 for guidance (Florida Geological Survey sinkhole page).

The Florida Geological Survey, part of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, whose page lists a contact address at 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard in Tallahassee, says sinkholes are one of many kinds of karst landforms in Florida, along with caves, disappearing streams, springs and underground drainage systems, and gives Wakulla Springs as an example of a spring (Florida Geological Survey sinkhole page). It also lists causes of holes that only mimic sinkholes, including broken sewer and drain pipes, broken septic tanks, poorly compacted soil and buried debris; when a licensed professional geologist or engineer has not verified a hole as a true sinkhole and the cause of subsidence is not known, the state calls the event a subsidence incident (Florida Geological Survey sinkhole page). Sinkhole insurance questions go to the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Consumer Services (Florida Geological Survey sinkhole page). The sinkhole risk areas guide covers the Lake Jackson area and the karst ground around Tallahassee in detail.

Leon County runs Neighborhood Readiness Trainings for unincorporated neighborhoods and says more than 1,000 residents have been trained in disaster resilience through the program (Leon County Emergency Management).

The county's LeonReady resources include a supply list for filling a durable five gallon waterproof bucket, and the county page points to the National Weather Service for forecasts and severe weather watches and warnings (Leon County Emergency Management). The City of Tallahassee's flood page lists a family disaster supplies kit that includes at least three gallons of water per person, a battery powered radio, a flashlight and written instructions for turning off electricity, gas and water (City of Tallahassee Flood Awareness).

On the road, the two governments give similar warnings in different words. The City of Tallahassee says six inches of moving water can make a person fall and advises never driving into flooded areas (City of Tallahassee Emergency Management). Leon County says six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars, a foot of water will float many vehicles, and two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles, including SUVs and pick ups (Leon County Flood Information).

Three Tallahassee safety guides each take one hazard; the table matches each guide to its question.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, by re-reading the city and county emergency management pages, the Tallahassee Fire Department contact block, both FEMA Community Status Book entries for Tallahassee and Leon County, the two flood pages and the state sinkhole page.