7/31/2017

Gov. Scott Issues Updates on Tropical Depression Emily

Governor Rick Scott continues to receive updates on Tropical Depression Emily at the State Emergency Operations Center. The Governor remains in constant communication with state and local emergency management officials and state agency leaders who are also working to ensure the state is prepared to respond to any potential impacts from Tropical Depression Emily. This morning, Governor Scott issued Executive Order 17-204 declaring a state of emergency in 31 counties within the state of Florida in response to Tropical Depression Emily. There are currently no evacuation orders in effect.

Governor Scott said, “I just spoke to state and county emergency management officials on the impacts of Tropical Depression Emily and there are no unmet needs or evacuation orders at this time. While it is positive news that this tropical storm has been downgraded to a tropical depression, we must remain vigilant. I will continue to receive briefings on the impacts of this storm tonight and will deploy state resources to assist local efforts if needed.

“Families in central and eastern Florida should remain alert and expect significant rainfall and the possibility of flooding and damaging wind gusts. As many Floridians head home from work, I urge everyone to drive cautiously and avoid driving through any standing water. All Floridians should continue to stay tuned to local weather alerts throughout the evening.”

EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS BY STATE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM

MILITARY SUPPORT

• The Florida National Guard stands ready to support hurricane preparedness and response with guardsmen ready to be deployed if needed.

POWER OUTAGES AND UTILITIES

• As of 5:00 p.m., there were approximately 7,800 homes and businesses without power, predominately in Manatee and Hillsborough counties. See the county power outage breakdown HERE.
• Utilities are continuously reporting outage and restoral information to the State Emergency Response Team.
• Utilities are contacting their mutual aid partners to determine availability if external resources are needed to restore services.
• Monitoring the power grid for sufficient power in the state and the natural gas infrastructure for any damages that can cause a loss of service to power plants.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has a 250-person response team ready to deploy as needed to assist with road closures, directing traffic in the event of power outages and respond to any call for service as needed by local law enforcement agencies.
• FHP has reopened all lanes of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
• The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and other partnering agencies are identifying resources for deployment if necessary to respond to the storm.

SHELTERS & VOLUNTEER SERVICES

• The American Red Cross is on standby to conduct shelter operations in Pinellas and Indian River counties.
• Volunteer Florida has eight Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) comprised of 265 specially-trained individuals ready to deploy as needed to assist disaster relief agencies and emergency management personnel.

INFRASTRUCTURE: TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC WORKS

• The state is monitoring the storm and holding teleconferences with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) districts and agency partners – Army Corps of Engineers, Water Management Districts, Civil Air Patrol and Federal Highway Administration to ensure all infrastructure needs are met.
• Army Corps of Engineers and Water Management Districts are monitoring waterways and are prepared to adjust flows as necessary.
• FDOT is actively monitoring for roadway flooding and stands ready to respond as needed.
• FDOT has prepared maintenance yards, construction zones, equipment and staff; testing and inventorying equipment; placing emergency crews on standby; reviewing emergency plans; preparing construction zones; and monitoring flood prone areas.

• FDOT will continue to reach out to county emergency operations centers directly to coordinate any necessary response actions including activating traffic counters and providing maintenance of traffic and other assistance.

BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, & ECONOMIC STABILIZATION

• The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and the Division of Emergency Management (DEM) created an event in Florida Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (FLVBEOC) for Tropical Depression Emily and it is currently up to date with storm info, including press releases/situation reports. DEO and DEM continue to provide situation awareness to private sector partners.
  • FLVBEOC is available at www.flvbeoc.org
• VISIT FLORIDA has activated the Weather Alert ribbon on the VISITFLORIDA.com homepage and the Florida Now resource landing page

FUELS

• The state has contacted fuel industry partners (e.g., Florida Petroleum Council, Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association); there are no reported supply, distribution or retail fuel shortages or issues.
• The state is monitoring fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• At this point, there are no out of ordinary reports of any major outages.
• The state is monitoring fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.

SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

• Field Station readiness actions include the following:
  • Lake Okeechobee water levels indicate that no discharges should be necessary. Lake levels will continue to be monitored.
  • Inspecting key parts of the flood control system and critical flood control structures.
  • Ensuring adequate fuel supplies for pump stations and other equipment.
  • Securing items vulnerable to high wind at pump stations and laydown yards in Homestead, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection surveyed beaches throughout entire Florida west coast and is reaching out to state parks to assess needs.
• No state parks are closed at this time.

CONTACTS:

• State Emergency Operations Center Media Line: 850-921-0217.
• Follow @FLSert or @FLGovScott on Twitter for live updates on Tropical Depression Emily.
• Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org to find information on shelters and road closures.