5/12/2024

Florida Division of Emergency Management Issues Updates on Recovery Resources Following Severe Weather in North Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) issued updates on available resources for residents needing support after recent severe weather. Governor DeSantis issued EO 24-94 which designates 12 counties to be under a state of emergency in order to maximize state resources and cooperative efforts to assist in recovery following the tornadoes and significant storm impacts on May 10, 2024.

State Resources

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) activated the Hope Bus with Hope Navigators to serve individuals and families recovering from the severe weather and is collocated with Volunteer Florida and Florida Commerce at the FAMU Bragg Memorial Stadium today, Sunday, May 12, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. At the site, the Hope Florida resource bus will be available to provide internet, charging stations, tarps, food, water and hygiene supplies to residents impacted by the severe weather. Hope Navigators are also onsite, ready to assist residents.

• Hope Florida Bus – Bragg Memorial Stadium, 1500 Wahnish Way, Tallahassee, FL 32310

As of 10:30 am, Hope Navigators have served 273 individuals.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management also has three points of distribution (PODs) to hand out water and meals ready to eat (MREs) to those impacted by the severe weather. Residents may visit the sites on May 12-14 with operating hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at:

• Lewis Sr. Woodville Park and Recreation Complex, 1492 J. Lewis Hall Sr., Tallahassee, FL 32305
• Jane G. Sauls Fort Braden Branch Library, 16327 Blountstown Highway, Tallahassee, FL 32310
• Apalachee Regional Park, 7550 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, FL 32311

Florida’s utility providers are actively working to restore power to damaged accounts. As of 12 p.m., over 75 percent of utility customer accounts have been restored since May 10.

Non-Profit, Faith-Based and Private Sector Resources

• Volunteer Florida has been working closely with all local partners to coordinate support and resources. Residents can call 2-1-1 for referrals to resources in the community such as:

• Faith Presbyterate Comfort Station is open from 12-6 p.m. today, May 12, in the Fellowship Hall.
• The American Red Cross is operating a general population shelter at the FAMU Al Lawson Center, 1800 Wahnish Way, Tallahassee, FL 32310.
• The American Red Cross has also opened a Comfort Station at 1115 Easterwood Drive today, May 12, and tomorrow, May 13.
• The Salvation Army food truck is roaming impacted neighborhoods with meals.

• • U-Haul is offering free storage. People seeking more information or needing to arrange storage services should contact their nearest participating facility:
    • • U-Haul Moving & Storage at Capital Circle Northwest.
        • • 5010 Tennessee St.
          • Tallahassee, FL 32304
          • (850) 576-2317
      • U-Haul Moving & Storage at Lake Ella
        • • 1580 N. Monroe St.
          • Tallahassee, FL 32303
          • (850) 222-1389
      • U-Haul Moving & Storage of Northeast Tallahassee
        • • 2554 Capital Circle NE
          • Tallahassee, FL 32308
          • (850) 422-0039

• Southern Baptists, Global United Methodists and Team Rubicon are working in coordination to provide tree clearing and debris removal services to impacted residents, free of charge.
• Homeowners in Tallahassee can call Samaritans Purse at (833) 747-1234 to request assistance for tree removal and tarping.
• People interested in volunteering should visit Volunteer Connect at volunteerflorida.org.
• For those interested in donating to the Florida Disaster Foundation, visit FloridaDisasterFoundation.org.

Health and Human Services

• For the latest information from the Florida Department of Education regarding school districts, colleges and early learning providers, please visit fldoe.org/storminfo. 
• DCF has activated additional resources, including virtual mental health and mobile response teams, to assist communities impacted by the storm.

Infrastructure, Roads, State Closures and Outages

• FDOT reminds motorists to always check FL511 for real-time travel information, including road and bridge closures.

Resources for Employees and Businesses

• DBPR Division of Regulation is conducting damage assessment sweeps to look for structural damages caused by the Early May Severe Weather Event, and combat unlicensed activity in impacted counties. Residents can report instances of unlicensed contracting to the DBPR hotline toll-free at +1 (866) 532-1440. 
• DBPR encourages Florida’s licensed contractors who are looking to help property owners in need of post-storm construction-related services to register with its Florida Disaster Contractors Network at DCNOnline.org. Once homeowners are safely able to assess their home repair needs, DBPR encourages them to log onto DCNOnline.org and search by county for a list of Florida-licensed contractors providing these services in their community.
• Florida Commerce and the State Emergency Response Team (SERT) activated the Business Damage Assessment Survey in response to the May North Florida Tornadoes. Businesses can complete the survey online by visiting www.floridadisaster.biz and selecting “May North Florida Tornadoes” from the dropdown menu.
• Updates on closures and business resources are consistently being updated at www.FloridaDisaster.biz.

Follow @FLSERT and @GovRonDeSantis on X, formerly known as Twitter, for live updates. Visit FloridaDisaster.org for more information.

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