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NOUS41 KNHC 301252
PNSNHC

Public Information Statement
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL
900 AM EDT Mon Apr 30 2018

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be conducting a
National Level Exercise (NLE) from April 30 through May 11, 2018,
that uses a hurricane scenario affecting the U.S. East Coast to test
response and readiness capabilities.

Mock National Hurricane Center (NHC) tropical cyclone text and
graphical products have been created for this exercise for a
fictional tropical cyclone. These products are not intended to be
released externally and no test products from this exercise will
appear on the NHC website (hurricanes.gov). In the event that a real
tropical cyclone is active in the Atlantic basin during the time of
the test, only official tropical cyclone forecast information will
appear on the NHC website.

The 2018 NLE tests federal, state, and local governments' ability to
respond to catastrophic incidents; Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia will join
departments and agencies across the federal government for this
exercise. The exercise is based on a scenario where a major
hurricane makes landfall near Hampton Roads, Virginia.

For more information on the NLE, see this press release from FEMA:

https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2018/04/03/fema-invites-whole-
community-participate-historic-national-level-exercise