Deerfield Beach under Hurricane Warning!!

10/04/16 – Gov. Scott: Cat 4 Matthew Approaching Florida; Stay Alert To Possible Life-Saving Evacuations

Governor Rick Scott today visited the City of Marathon and Volusia County to meet with emergency management officials as the state prepares for Hurricane Matthew, a life-threatening category four storm. Governor Scott will also be in Nassau County today visiting with emergency management officials. Florida is now under both tropical storm and hurricane watches. The tropical storm watch extends from the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys to Deerfield Beach in Palm Beach County and includes Lake Okeechobee. The hurricane watch extends from Deerfield Beach to the Brevard-Volusia county line.

Governor Scott satid, “Hurricane Matthew is a deadly storm and has already killed multiple people. Our number one priority is to protect life and we will continue to communicate with all 67 Florida counties to ensure critical needs are met. At this time, we cannot focus on the exact track of this storm. We know that it will be very close to our state and any small deviation from its track could mean a catastrophic change along Florida’s east coast. That is why everyone in our state must prepare today for a direct hit.

“As Matthew continues to approach Florida, evacuations may be ordered today. If you are on Florida’s east coast, you should know today where you will go if you have to evacuate. If you are able to leave early and go now, before there is traffic, please go. No one should take any risks. Many coastal counties are also preparing to open shelters within the next 24 hours if needed and contacting special needs populations. Again, if an evacuation is ordered for your area, leave immediately. First responders cannot rescue you once the storm hits.

Gov. Scott: Cat 4 Matthew Approaching Florida; Stay Alert To Possible Life-Saving Evacuations

10/04/16 – Gov. Scott Issues Updates on Hurricane Matthew Preparedness Efforts as Storm Approaches Florida

Today, Governor Rick Scott visited the City of Marathon to meet with county emergency management officials as the state prepares for Hurricane Matthew, a life-threatening category four storm. Governor Scott has remained in constant communication with state and local leaders who are working to ensure the state is prepared for the storm. Governor Scott will also be at the Volusia County Emergency Management Center and the Nassau County Emergency Operations Center today to meet with emergency management officials to prepare for Hurricane Matthew.

EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS BY STATE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM

MILITARY SUPPORT

• Approximately 200 members of the Florida National Guard will be activated to support hurricane preparedness and response. There are also more than 6,000 guardsmen ready to be deployed if needed.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and other partnering agencies are identifying resources for deployment if necessary to respond to the storm.

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.

• Asset maintenance contractors have been alerted;
• FDOT district offices are reaching out to construction vendors to have them remove any materials that block roads to facilitate evacuations;
• Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise is ensuring that service plazas along the Florida Turnpike have Road Rangers and fuel;
• Additional fuel, Road Rangers and resources such as variable message boards to guide evacuees are on standby; and
• The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has made contact with local troops in preparation for supporting evacuations in the major corridors, south to north and east to west.

• Army Corps of Engineers and Water Management Districts are monitoring waterways and are prepared to adjust flows as necessary.
• FDOT is preparing evacuation routes, 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, providing local evacuation support and providing maintenance of traffic and other assistance.

HUMAN SERVICES:

• Establishing local points of contact with mass care organizations and volunteer agencies for potentially impacted counties starting from Monroe to Orange County, and working up toward the rest of the state.
• The state is working with the American Red Cross to identify shelter staffing capacity in potential impact areas.
• The state is working with Volunteers and Donation agencies to identify available volunteers through Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and AmeriCorps to staff shelters if needed.
• Department of Business and Professional Regulation and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is running projection models for human-service’s needs (food and sheltering) based on a major hurricane impacting Monroe County to Orange County, and Seminole County to Nassau County.
• The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services is inventorying school food supplies in schools and state warehouses.

BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, & ECONOMIC STABILIZATION

• The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and the Division of Emergency Management (DEM) created event in Florida Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (FLVBEOC) for Hurricane Matthew and currently updating with up to date storm info, including press releases/situation reports. Providing situational awareness to private sector partners.
  • FLVBEOC is available at www.flvbeoc.org
• Activated Private Sector Hotline: 850-410-1403. Hotline is available for business inquiries about the storm, preparedness information and post-impact information.

ELECTRIC & NATURAL GAS UTILITIES (Public Service Commission)

• Utilities have been put on notice to start reporting outage and restoral information when notified to begin.
• 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.

FUELS

• The state is contacting 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.
• Monitoring fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.
• The state has contacted emergency fuel and equipment provider for status of emergency fuel supply and equipment.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• Coordinating with telecommunications partners to monitor the situation and remain on standby to respond if required.
• At this point, no out of ordinary reports of any major outages.
• Monitoring fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.

SEAPORTS

• Monitoring conditions at the following seaports:
  • Duval – JAXPORT: Open
  • Nassau – Port of Fernandina: Open
  • Broward – Port Everglades: Open, sustained gale force winds predicted within 48 hours
  • Palm Beach – Port of Palm Beach: Open, sustained gale force winds predicted within 48 hours
  • Saint Lucie – Port of Ft. Pierce: Open, sustained gale force winds predicted within 48 hours
  • Brevard – Port Canaveral: Open
  • Miami-Dade – Port Miami: Open, sustained gale force winds predicted within 48 hours
  • Monroe – Port of Key West: Open, sustained gale force winds predicted within 48 hours

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

• Inspections of the Herbert Hoover Dike are taking place at fifteen-day intervals. Daily inspections begin once the lake exceeds 17 feet.
• Discharges from Lake Okeechobee are currently being maintained at current targets (West: 4,000 cubic feet per second / East: 1,800 cubic feet per second).

SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

• SFWMD has elevated its readiness condition to Condition 4.  Condition 4 readiness actions include the following:
• Upper East Coast: Water managers are gradually lowering canals as their current discharges are moderate.
• Discharge through S-38 will continue until Monday as long as the forecast for Matthew rain is Tuesday or later.  Supplemental flow to the Florida Bay is being reduced to provide capacity for pre-storm draw down.

Field Station readiness actions include the following:

• Inspecting key parts of the flood control system and critical flood control structures.
• Inspecting canals and levees for any obstructions.
• Inspecting heavy equipment.
• 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 east coast and is reaching out to state parks to assess needs.
• No state parks are closed at this time.

LOGISTICS:

• The State Logistics Response Center (SLRC) will be opening today at 12:00 noon to manage the deployment of resources to counties.

• Identifying potential State Logistical Staging Areas to preposition materials and resources if needed.
• Running Logistics Forecast Models for each coastal and first inland county (Jacksonville to Miami).
• Have received update from FEMA Logistics on available assets.

• Will begin to poll in-state resources available from unaffected counties.

• Contacted South Florida Fairgrounds, Homestead Air Reserve Base as potential staging sites.
• Monitoring government, school and infrastructure closures.

CONTACTS:

• The Florida Emergency Information Line (FEIL) has activated and can be reached at 1 (800) 342-3557.
• State Emergency Operations Center Media Line: 850-921-0217.
• Follow @FLSert or @FLGovScott on Twitter for live updates on Hurricane Matthew.
• Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org to find information on shelters, road closures, and evacuation routes.

Gov. Scott Issues Updates on Hurricane Matthew Preparedness Efforts as Storm Approaches Florida

10/03/16 – Gov. Scott: Cat 4 Hurricane Matthew Is Life Threatening And Approaching Florida

Governor Rick Scott today visited the City of Hialeah Emergency Operations Center to meet with emergency management officials as the state prepares for Hurricane Matthew, a life-threatening category four storm. Governor Scott also signed Executive Order 16-230 declaring a state of emergency for every Florida county due to the severity and magnitude of Hurricane Matthew.

Governor Scott said, “Hurricane Matthew is a life-threatening category four hurricane and we must all take it seriously. If Hurricane Matthew directly impacts Florida, there could be massive destruction which we haven’t seen since Hurricane Andrew devastated Miami-Dade County in 1992. That is why we cannot delay and must prepare for direct impact now. Today, I signed an Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency in every Florida county to ensure we have resources for evacuations, sheltering and other logistical needs across our state. We are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best and we will not take any chances to ensure our state is prepared.

“Hurricane Matthew has already killed four people and nobody wants that number to rise. As I said during Hurricane Hermine, we can rebuild a home or a business, but we cannot rebuild your life. The best way to prevent further loss is to get prepared now and take this storm seriously. Having a plan in place could mean the difference between life and death during severe weather, especially a major category four hurricane.

“Although Matthew is not currently projected to directly impact Florida, we all know how quickly the track of these storms can change. While there are no evacuation orders currently in place, this storm could threaten our state with very little notice and no one should be caught off guard. If an evacuation order is activated in your area, leave immediately. Once severe weather comes, our first responders will not be able to rescue you until the weather subsides.

“Our National Guard stands ready to be deployed if needed. I am also in contact with the utilities across the state and will stay in communication with them regarding their plans if there are any power outages. We are taking steps to move additional fuel to the state’s east coast. On the Florida Turnpike, we also have extra fuel trucks on standby to get anywhere in our state. Again, while we are preparing for the worst, we are hoping for the best and will not take any chances with a storm of this magnitude.”

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reports that Hurricane Matthew is a major category four hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. Although the NHC official forecast continues to show a track east of Florida, Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Division of Emergency Management continue to actively monitor Hurricane Matthew and urge everyone in Florida to remain vigilant and take all necessary precautions as it moves through the Caribbean. The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) today activated to Level 2. Based on the current forecast, the state’s entire east coast from Monroe to Nassau counties could experience tropical storm force winds, beach erosion, rip currents and heavy rain. This is a slow moving storm and could impact Florida as early as Wednesday and last through Saturday.

State Coordinating Officer Bryan Koon said, “Hurricane Matthew is a strong and very dangerous storm. Residents should not delay and begin preparing for the worst now. This morning, the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) upgraded our activation to a Level 2. As always, we stand ready to respond to any potential impacts this storm may have on Florida communities and continue to encourage residents to visit Floridadisaster.org to create an emergency plan.”

Cat 4 Hurricane Matthew Is Life Threatening And Approaching Florida

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Updated:
October 4, 2016 18:35