JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott met with emergency management officials in Tallahassee, Ft. Pierce, Rockledge and Jacksonville as the state prepares for Hurricane Matthew, a life-threatening category three storm. Florida remains under both tropical storm and hurricane watches. Governor Scott has remained in constant communication with state and local leaders, utility companies, sheriffs, and volunteer organizations who are working to ensure the state is prepared for the storm.
EVACUATIONS
More than 1.5 million Floridians are currently in evacuation zones.
Palm Beach County: Voluntary evacuations have already started. Mandatory evacuations are beginning today.
Broward County: Voluntary evacuations for mobile homes and low lying areas have begun.
St. Johns County: Mandatory evacuations begin at 6 am tomorrow for barrier islands and low lying areas.
Duval County: Voluntary evacuations have started for Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach
Brevard County: Mandatory evacuations for barrier islands at 3 pm today.
St. Lucie County: Voluntary evacuations have already started. Mandatory evacuations will begin tomorrow.
Flagler County: Voluntary evacuations have already started.
Indian River: Voluntary evacuations have started for barrier islands. Mandatory evacuations begin tomorrow at 8 am for barrier islands, mobile and manufactured homes and low lying areas.
Martin County: Mandatory evacuations are in effect for Sewall’s Point, Hutchinson Island, Jupiter Island and mobile homes.
Miami-Dade County: Voluntary evacuations are in effect for mobile homes.
Nassau County: Mandatory evacuations begin at 6 am tomorrow for beaches and coastal areas.
Volusia County: Voluntary evacuations of barrier islands today. Mandatory evacuations begin tomorrow morning.
SHELTERS
Currently Open Shelters:
Atlantic High School: Delray Beach, FL
Boynton Beach Community High School: Boynton Beach, FL
Lake Shore Middle School: Belle Glade, FL
Forest Hill High School: West Palm Beach, FL
West Boynton Recreation Center (Pet Friendly): Lake Worth, FL
Lyons Creek Middle School: Coconut Creek, FL
Coral Glades High School: Coral Springs, FL
Fox Trail Elementary School: Davie, FL
Rock Island Elementary/ Arthur Ashe Middle School: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Everglades High School: Miramar, FL
New Renaissance Middle School: Miramar, FL
Millennium Middle School (Pet Friendly): Tamarac, FL
Falcon Cove Middle School: Weston, FL
Michael M. Krop Senior Center: North Miami-Dade, FL
Booker T. Washington Senior Center: City of Miami, FL
Robert Morgan Senior Center: Miami, FL
Darwin Fuchs Pavilion (Pet Friendly): Miami, FL
Coastal counties are working on opening additional shelters tonight and tomorrow morning, including shelters for people with special needs, pets and general populations. A list of all open shelters will be available at http://floridadisaster.org/shelters/summary.htm
The state is working with the American Red Cross to identify shelter capacity both during and following the storm.
The state has a 110,000 meal capacity a day, which can be delivered using 24 Emergency Response Vehicles, 31 canteens, and mobile trailers
POWER
There are currently no power outages in Florida due to Hurricane Matthew.
Utilities have been put on notice to be prepared to quickly report outage and restoral information once applicable. The outage reporting is expected to begin Thursday morning.
Utilities are contacting their mutual aid partners to determine availability if external resources are needed to restore services.
The state is 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.
Governor Scott spoke with utilities across the state yesterday to ensure utilities are pre-positioned and there are no unmet needs.
FUEL
There are no current supply, distribution or retail fuel shortages or issues. The state is monitoring for any isolated incidents of individual retailers experiencing temporary fuel shortages. These individual retailers are being quickly refueled and fuel is readily available across Florida.
The state will continue to monitor fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.
The current fuel supply in the state will last for at least 8 days, even if all ports close.
The state is working with fuel partners and suppliers to increase the number trucks moving fuel from the ports to retail locations.
The state has contacted emergency fuel and equipment providers for status of emergency fuel supply and equipment.
SCHOOL CLOSURES
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) activated its emergency contact system for the east coast Florida school districts and colleges, and is monitoring closures made at the district and college levels.
District school closures include:
Brevard County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Broward County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Bradford County Schools – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Clay County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Dade County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Duval County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Lake County Schools – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Flagler County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Glades County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Hendry County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Highlands County – Closed Friday.
Indian River County – Closing early today. Closed Thursday and Friday.
Lake County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Martin County – Closing early today. Closed Thursday and Friday.
Marion County – Closed Friday.
Monroe County – Partially Closed Thursday.
Nassau County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Okeechobee County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Orange County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Osceola County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Palm Beach County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Polk County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Putnam County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Johns County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Seminole County Schools – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Lucie County – Closing early today. Closed Thursday and Friday.
Sumter County – Closing early tomorrow and closed Friday.
Union County – Closed on Friday.
Volusia County Schools – Closed Thursday and Friday.
Sumter County – Closing early Thursday. Closed Friday.
FAU Lab school – Closed early today and is closed Thursday and Friday.
Florida School for Deaf and Blind – Closed today, Thursday and Friday.
Universities/ college closures include:
University of North Florida: Closed this afternoon, Thursday through Saturday.
Embry Riddle University: Closed Thursday and Friday.
Florida Atlantic University: Closed this afternoon, Thursday through Sunday.
Florida International University: Closed Wednesday at 5:00 through Friday.
Florida A&M University satellite campuses (in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa): Closed today through Sunday.
Nova Southeastern University: Closed Thursday and Friday.
University of Central Florida: Closed Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. through Saturday.
Broward College: Closed today through Sunday.
Daytona State College: Closed Thursday and Friday.
Eastern Florida State College: Closed today through Sunday.
Florida State College at Jacksonville: Closed today through Sunday.
Florida Polytechnic University: Closed Thursday and Friday.
Lake-Sumter State College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.
Indian River State College: Closed today through Sunday.
Miami Dade College: Closed today through Friday.
Palm Beach State College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.
Seminole State College of Florida: Closed Wednesday through Sunday.
Johns River State College: Closed today through Sunday.
Valencia College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.
Broward College: Closed today through Sunday.
South Florida State College: Closed Thursday and Friday.
University of Florida: Closed Friday.
GOVERNMENT CLOSURES
County and state offices are closed Thursday and Friday in the following counties:
Baker, Brevard, Broward, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie and Volusia
MILITARY SUPPORT
As of today, Governor Scott has directed the Florida National Guard to activate a total of 1,500 National Guard members to support hurricane preparedness and response.
In addition to this, Florida has over 5,000 National Guard members ready to be deployed if needed.
The National Guard will be focused on staging to perform search and rescue efforts as well as providing reconnaissance teams, equipment such as high wheeled vehicles security, and staffing and planning support to assist counties as needed.
LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIRE FIGHTING AND SEARCH & RESCUE
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), and other partnering agencies are identifying resources for deployment if necessary to respond to the storm and are preparing to assist with evacuations.
FWC has two advance reconnaissance teams actively deploying from Ocala with equipment to move debris from water access points in order to assist search and rescue missions. Additionally, FWC’s teams will be partnered with 164 field personnel that are on standby to provide humanitarian aid when needed.
FHP has made contact with local troops in preparation for supporting evacuations in the major corridors, from south to north and east to west. FHP has also placed all troops on alert and has ten 33-member quick response force teams, for a total of 330 troopers on standby for deployment.
State Emergency Response Plan (SERP) Coordinator and Regional Coordinators have been notified so staffers and resources can be prepared for deployment.
60 Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations (Department of Financial Services), Florida Fish and Wildlife Special Operations Group boat teams, and members of the Florida National Guard are staging at Florida State Fire College in Ocala tomorrow in preparation for deployment to perform search and rescue missions.
Five Urban Search and Rescue Task Force teams will be available to assist with search and rescue based on the current track of the storm.
State firefighting representative are working with DOH to assist with tracking and patient movement if needed.
Consulting with federal partners to identify any assets that may be needed as state assets become committed during response activities.
PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL
DOH is working with healthcare facilities on potential evacuations and preparing for storm impacts.
DOH is also standing by to monitor and support special needs shelter activations.
DOH has established daily calls with County Health Departments to ensure all needs are met.
The state is preparing personnel for deployment, such as State Medical Response Teams and Special Needs Sheltering Teams, to provide assistance to counties affected by the storm.
AHCA is supporting the emergency preparedness efforts for hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other health care facilities by monitoring evacuation efforts and needs, as well as working with providers to ensure patients are receiving any necessary care and medication.
The following hospitals are evacuating patients:
Baptist Medical Center Beaches, Jacksonville Beach
Health First Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach
Florida Hospital Oceanside, Ormond Beach
Florida Hospital New Symrna, New Symrna Beach
Baptist Medical Center Nassau, Fernandina Beach
Wuesthoff Medical Center, Rockledge, FL
TOLLS
Governor Scott directed DOT to suspend all tolls in the affected areas of the state, which includes the entire Florida Turnpike, Alligator Alley, Central Florida Expressway Authority and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.
This expands the Governor’s direction from this morning that included suspension of tolls in counties with evacuation orders.
TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC WORKS
The state has held 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.
FDOT halted construction work on all FDOT projects on Interstates, Limited Access facilities, coastal and evacuation route roadways effective immediately in preparation for the approaching Hurricane Matthew. Contractors are being instructed to secure all equipment and open travel lanes by removing all unnecessary barricades, signs and drums.
FDOT District offices have placed emergency crews on standby, and are continuing to test and inventory equipment and monitor 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.
FDOT is coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard to lock down Intracoastal Waterway bridges along the eastern Florida coast prior to sustained winds of 40 mph. Intracoastal bridges in Palm Beach County will be locked down by 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The Miami Tunnel closed at 1:00 p.m. today. Tri-Rail is suspending service in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Drawbridges along the Miami River and the Intracoastal Waterway in Miami-Dade County will be locked down beginning at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. During lock-down, the bridge spans are locked in the down position and will not open for marine traffic. This will not affect vehicular traffic crossing the bridges. Lock-down of bridges on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW) will begin at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
Additional road and bridge closure information can be found at www.fl511.com.
Florida Highway Patrol traffic incidents by region can be found here.
The Florida Turnpike Enterprise has ensured 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.
Army Corps of Engineers and Water Management Districts are monitoring waterways and are prepared to adjust flows as necessary.
FDOT is monitoring live traffic counters in South Florida, Central Florida, and along the East Coast of Florida.
HUMAN SERVICES
Resources and Supplies
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and DEM Logistics are running projection models for human-service’s needs (food and sheltering) based on major hurricane impacts to Miami Dade County to Duval County, and Seminole County to Nassau County.
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is inventorying school food supplies in schools and state warehouses.
The state is contacting potential vendors for quotes on baby needs and other items.
Food Safety Assessment teams on standby to monitor power outages and flooding to ensure safety at food establishments
Volunteer Organizations
The state is establishing local points of contact with mass care organizations and volunteer agencies for potentially impacted counties.
The state is working with Volunteer Florida and other volunteers and donation agencies to identify available volunteers through Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and AmeriCorps to staff shelters if needed. Thirty-nine AmeriCorps teams statewide are on call for anticipated response to Hurricane Matthew. Volunteer Florida grantee Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach is deploying AmeriCorps today to the Palm Beach County EOC and Special Needs Shelter. Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) are also available.
The state is assessing available housing for responders and volunteers.
Volunteer Florida is identifying fixed kitchens from potentially impacted counties in anticipation of feeding needs.
Volunteer Florida is working with Community Emergency Response Teams that are on standby for possible deployment to impacted areas, with the Florida Baptist Convention to identify an in-kind warehouse space for multi-agency warehouse, and with Salvation Army and Red Cross for food distribution
Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD)
APD is communicating regularly with staff, providers, waiver support coordinators, and stakeholders about the hurricane and preparedness measures.
All group homes and individuals in Supported Living have their own disaster plans.
Regional Residential Planning Coordinators are assessing all available open beds in group homes statewide in case they are needed during or after the storm. Supported Living Coaches are checking on their customers in independent living to ensure they are safe and prepared. If someone needs to go to a group home during the storm, APD will authorize Respite and pay for the service.
Mutual Aid support from non-affected Regional Offices have been identified to support Regional Offices that may be impacted by the hurricane.
Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA)
Three of the state veterans’ nursing homes operated by the FDVA are on the east coast of Florida.
All of these facilities have permanent generators and administrators are working to ensure staff and supplies are available for residents.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates a number of Florida-based medical centers and outpatient clinics in the watch and warning areas. The following VA clinics will be closed during the listed days:
All Miami VA Medical Center primary care and community based clinics, with the exception of Key West – Thursday and Friday
All West Palm Beach VA Medical Center primary care and community based clinics – Thursday and Friday
Viera Outpatient Clinic – Thursday – Saturday
Daytona Beach Outpatient Clinic – Thursday – Saturday
Port Orange Psychosocial Recovery & Rehabilitation Center (PRRC) – Thursday – Saturday
Orange City VA Clinic – Friday
Augustine Clinic – Thursday – Friday
Jacksonville (all locations) – Thursday – Friday
Mary’s (GA) Clinic – Thursday – Friday
Palatka Clinic – Thursday – Friday
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, & ECONOMIC STABILIZATION
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and DEM have activated the Florida Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (FLVBEOC) to help identify and alleviate unmet needs between businesses and response partners. They are also working with businesses to make sure they have what they need to prepare for the storm.
The FLVBEOC is available at www.flvbeoc.org
The state has activated the Private Sector Hotline at 850-410-1403. The hotline is available for business inquiries about the storm, preparedness information and post-impact information from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET.
VISIT FLORIDA has activated the Emergency Accommodations Module to keep visitors informed if major evacuations are ordered.
VISIT FLORIDA will also work with local tourism partners to collect and share information regarding the open status for major retailers and hotels. More information can be found HERE.
VISIT FLORIDA has also compiled a list of available hotel accommodations for visitors who may be need to evacuate. To view available accommodations, click HERE.
If you need help finding your Florida’s property insurance company’s website and contact information, click HERE. For a list of licensed insurance agents in Florida, click HERE.
If you have questions about insurance coverage, you can call the Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services’ Insurance Helpline at 1-877-693-5236. You can find other hurricane season resources from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation HERE.
OIR will continue to communicate with DFS regarding the establishment of an insurance village, a mobile location for individuals to file insurance claims, if needed following the hurricane. OIR and DFS will also closely track insurance complaints to help protect Floridians.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
The Department of Management Services’ Division of Telecommunications is currently monitoring telecommunication services to ensure first responders, residents and visitors are able to communicate response and recovery needs.
The division is working to increase the DEM bandwidth to provide consistent communication services for the state emergency response team.
The division is working with telecommunications partners on proactive and protective measures to prepare equipment, facilities and response personnel for Hurricane Matthew, as well as encouraging partners to report any communications outages or affects.
The state is coordinating with state, federal and industry partners, and is prepared to help assess impacts to telecommunications facilities and infrastructure following the storm. The state is also monitoring fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.
SEAPORTS
The state is monitoring conditions at the following seaports and all are still open:
Duval – JAXPORT (*Seaport Access Closed at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow)
Nassau – Port of Fernandina (*Seaport Access Closed at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow)
Broward – Port Everglades (*Seaport Access Restricted)
Palm Beach – Port of Palm Beach (*Seaport Access Restricted)
Saint Lucie – Port of Ft. Pierce (*Seaport Access Restricted)
Brevard – Port Canaveral (*Seaport Access Closed 6:00 p.m. today)
Miami-Dade – Port Miami (*Seaport Access Restricted)
Monroe – Port of Key West
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (USACE)
A pre-storm inspection of the Herbert Hoover Dike has been completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A post storm inspection will occur as soon as the Dike is accessible. Additional routine inspections will begin once the lake exceeds 17 feet. The lake level is currently at 15.86 feet.
Discharges from the Lake is currently ceased to provide area flood protection for residents. Discharges will resume at 4,000 cubic feet per second to the west and 1,800 cubic feet per second to the east after the storm when it can be done safely.
Working with Water Management Districts to monitor waterways; prepared to adjust flows as necessary.
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (SFWMD)
SFWMD is gradually lowering canals.
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 completed all pre-storm beach erosion surveys.
DEP is ready to deploy generators to water treatment plants if needed.
Household Hazardous Waste debris and drop off sites have been established in all 67 counties
To view the list of closed state parks and campgrounds, click HERE.
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/info to find information on shelters, road closures, and evacuation routes.
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