From creating a state gasoline reserve to protecting vulnerable seniors in nursing homes, a newly created House committee will look at ways of better preparing Florida to face major storms such as Hurricane Irma.

“With any event of this magnitude, lessons can be learned,” House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, said Tuesday in a memo to House members, announcing the 21-member Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness. “We must move quickly to assess our recent experience and pinpoint tangible, meaningful ways to improve Florida's hurricane readiness and response capabilities.”

Rep. Jeanette Nunez, a Miami Republican who will lead the committee, said the panel would look to provide “some significant recommendations in the short term and the long term, to make sure that we are keeping our citizenry safe.”