Last night the Florida Division of Emergency Management issued its voluminous report that listed the pre-landfall and post-landfall work of all the state agencies. I’ve hit the highlights below:
State Response Efforts
• FDEM has activated the State Emergency Operations Center to a Level 1 and is leading coordination efforts for the State Emergency Response Team.
• FDEM
o Over 1.5 million bottles of water
o Over 800,000 shelf-stable meals
o Over 17,000 tarps
o 156,000 sandbags
o 120 cots
o Staff to support county shelter operations.
• More than 9,400 feet of flood protection devices are being deployed to critical infrastructure sites to protect against flooding, including schools, health care facilities, public works, lift stations and roads and bridges. For the first time, the state of Florida and its partners are also deploying flood control barriers around utility substations as a new best practice to ensure power is maintained throughout the storm for as many Floridians as possible.
• Approximately 17,000 linemen have been mobilized to assist with power restoration efforts as needed.
• Following Governor DeSantis’ authorization, the Florida National Guard (FLNG) is prepared to support the state’s response operations to Hurricane Debby. The Florida National Guard is mobilizing up to 3,500 Guardsmen.
• In Manatee County, 12 local FWC officers are assisting residents with high-water evacuations along the Manatee River. A team of 8 additional officers from Collier County is deploying with shallow draft vessels and a swamp buggy to assist Manatee County officers to address additional needs due to rising rivers in the area.
• FDLE’s mutual aid team is coordinating anticipated response of approximately 395 officers from nine agencies. FDLE mutual aid teams are supporting 13 hurricane response missions.
Volunteer Resources
• Disaster Legal Aid
o 833-513-2940
o Disaster survivors anywhere in the state may call to apply for free civil legal services.
• United Methodist
o 855-228-3862
o Disaster survivors in the state may call to register for disaster assistance such as debris removal, tarping, muck and gut.
• Crisis Clean Up
o 844-965-1386
o Disaster survivors in the state may call to register for assistance with debris.
• Local Relief is a tech-driven social media mobile app that bridges the communication gap between communities and vital resources during times of disaster. Download the app here.
• Volunteer organizations such as Midwest Foodbank, Feeding Florida, Farm Share, and Meet the Need have begun coordination of resources and readying their inventory to meet potential feeding needs.
• The American Red Cross has begun mobilizing their Tallahassee and Jacksonville teams and contacted committed counties for plans on sheltering.
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Health and Human Services
• The Florida Department of Health (DOH) County health offices in Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, and Suwannee counties will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
• Currently, there are six boil water notices in Lake (2), Lee, Marion, and Orange (2) counties.
• DOH is supporting 12 special needs shelters, which are accepting clients, in the following counties: Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Duval (2), Gilchrist, Hamilton, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Suwannee, and Taylor serving nearly 200 clients.
• DOH has deployed over 100 emergency vehicles (e.g., ambulances, ambulance buses, paratransit vehicles) to support emergency evacuations and patient transport as needed. Staging is currently in Jackson and Marion counties.
• DOH is supporting 19 special needs shelters, which are accepting clients, in the following counties: Alachua, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Leon, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Suwannee, and Taylor serving over 300 clients.
• DOH utilized ambulance strike teams to perform 87 home wellness visits for hard-to-reach special needs clients in Wakulla, Taylor, Madison, Gilchrist, Dixie, and Levy counties.
Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has activated its Emergency Patient Look-up System (E-PLUS), initiated an event in the Health Facility Reporting System (HFRS), and reached out to health care associations. AHCA has initiated post-onsite assessment visits to health care facilities impacted by Hurricane Debby.
• There are 5 ALFs and 3 nursing homes reporting evacuation. Since the start of the activation, the Agency has conducted 818 outreach tasks related to this storm, such as email communications and phone calls with health care facilities in the impacted areas.
• 16 Special Needs Shelters are contributing data to E-PLUS.
• 85 individuals were checked into Special Needs Shelters through E-PLUS.
• 22 Encounter Notification Service Subscribers were notified of patient encounters at the above Special Needs Shelters.
• 6 patient searches for clinical records and medication fill histories have been conducted.
• AHCA has received 3 intake files from the Department of Health containing registration data from Special Needs Shelters.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) continues to coordinate closely with state EOC officials and partners.
• Overall, the State transportation system sustained minimal damage, which includes some isolated areas of wind damage and localized flooding.
• Currently, no major damage reported for traffic signals on state roads. Some traffic signals are not operational due to local power outages. Generators are in route to temporarily restore signals at those locations.
• Resources deployed in the field or available as needed:
o Over 1200 generators
o Nearly 70 pumps
o Over 230 pieces of heavy equipment and trucks
o Drone teams deployed to make assessments where needed
• Teams continue to monitor water levels at low-lying bridges near major river crossings including Suwannee, Santa Fe, Aucilla, and Ochlockonee Rivers.
o 150 crews have assessed over 8,421 lane miles for damages and other concerns.
o 69 Bridge Inspectors Teams are in the field & have performed over 1,300 inspections.
o Cut & Toss: 125 crews in the field & have performed Cut & Toss operations on 4,450 miles.
o FDOT waived standard size and weight restrictions for commercial vehicles transporting fuel, emergency equipment, services, supplies, and agriculture commodities and citrus. Commercial vehicles have an increased weight restriction to transport goods.
Seaports:
• Port Tampa Bay, Port St. Pete, Seaport Manatee and Port of Port St. Joe are closed waterside.
• Port Panama City is open with restrictions, no inbound vessels.
• Port Fernandina, and JAXPORT are open and preparing for potential storm impacts.
• All other seaports are open.
• Fuel Terminals: Normal Operations
State-Owned Road Closures (As of 4:30pm 8/5/24) State road closures listed below. For real-time updates, Check FL511.com. FDOT assisting city/county partners with localized flooding as requested.
• Alachua County
o Flooding on SR 26 Both Directions near SE 90th Ave. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on US 41 Both Directions at SW 202nd St. All lanes closed.
• Charlotte County
o E Olympia Avenue Eastbound at Nesbit Street – All lanes closed
o US-17 West beyond Cooper Street – All lanes closed
• Citrus County
o N Suncoast Blvd Northbound at W Fort Island Trl. All lanes closed.
o N Suncoast Blvd Southbound at N Turkey Oak Dr. All lanes closed.
o Columbia County
o I-10 West, at US-41. All lanes closed.
o I-10 East, before MM 306. Left lane blocked.
• Dixie County
o Debris on Roadway on SR-349 Both Directions from SR-20 to Dixie Lafayette County Line. All lanes closed.
o Debris on Roadway on US-19 Both Directions near NE 812th St. All lanes closed. Debris on Roadway on US-19 Southbound at SE 259th St. All lanes closed.
• Gilchrist County
o State Road 47 from County Road 340 to County Road 232 – All lanes closed
o Debris on Roadway on US-129 Southbound at SW 15th St. Debris on Roadway on SR-26 Northbound at US-98 Northbound
o Debris on Roadway on US-129 Northbound at NW 47th Pl.
o Debris on Roadway on US-129 Northbound at NW 110th St.
• Hillsborough County
o Flooding in Hillsborough County on SR 580 East, beyond Dale Mabry Hwy. 2 Right lanes blocked.
o SR 580 West, before Dale Mabry Hwy. All Lanes Closed.
o Dale Mabry Hwy North, at Hillsborough Ave. On-ramp left lane blocked.
o Flooding in Hillsborough County on SR-580 East, before Sawyer Rd. 2 Right lanes blocked.
o Flooding in Hillsborough County on SR-580 West, beyond Sawyer Rd. 2 Right lanes blocked.
• Lafayette County
o Debris on Roadway on SR-51 Both Directions from US-27 to Lafayette Suwannee County Line. All lanes closed.
o Debris on Roadway on US-27 Both Directions 0.54 Mi East of NW Griffin Rd. All lanes closed.
• Madison County
o Debris on Roadway on SR-145 Both Directions at NE Pawpaw St. All lanes closed.
o Debris on Roadway on SW US-221 Both Directions at SW Overland St. All lanes closed.
• Manatee County
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-62 East, beyond US-301. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-62 West, before US-301. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-64 / Manatee Ave East, before Waterbury Rd (CR-675). All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-64 / Manatee Ave West, beyond Waterbury Rd (CR-675). All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-64 / Manatee Ave East, at Rye Rd E. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-64 / Manatee Ave West, at Rye Rd E. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-70 East, before Uihlein Rd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-70 West, beyond Uihlein Rd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-70 West, at Betts Rd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Manatee County on SR-70 East, at Betts Rd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on SR-64 Westbound near Rutland Rd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on SR-64 at CR-675. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on SR-64 Eastbound at White Eagle Blvd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on SR-64 Westbound at White Eagle Blvd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on SR-70 near Mizell Rd. All lanes closed.
o Object on roadway in Marion County on SR-464 East, at SE 22nd Ave/SE
o Clatter Bridge Rd. All lanes closed.
• Pinellas County
o I-275/Sunshine Skyway Bridge – All lanes closed
o SR-690/Gateway Expressway East, ramp to I-275 NB Express Lanes. All lanes closed.
• Polk County
o Flooding in Polk County on SR-37 South, at SR-674. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Polk County on SR-37 North, at SR-674. All lanes closed.
• Putnam County
o Debris on Roadway on SR-100 Both Directions at Tram Rd. All lanes closed.
• Sarasota County
o Flooding in Sarasota County on FRUITVILLE RD West, beyond McIntosh Rd. Right lane blocked.
o Flooding in Sarasota County on FRUITVILLE RD East, before McIntosh Rd. Right lane blocked.
o Flooding in Sarasota County on US-41 South, beyond Laurel Rd. Right lane blocked.
o Flooding in Sarasota County on US-41 South, before McIntosh Rd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding in Sarasota County on US-41 North, beyond McIntosh Rd. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on Fruitville Rd Westbound at Whispering Oaks Ct. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on N Tamiami Trl Northbound at McIntosh Rd. All lanes closed.
• Suwannee County
o Flooding in Suwannee County on I-10 West, before MM 274. Right lane blocked.
o Flooding on US-129 Both Directions from Duval St NE to Hamilton Ave NW. All lanes closed.
o Flooding on US-90 Both Directions at US-129. All lanes closed.
• Taylor County
o Debris on Roadway on US-19 Both Directions at Newman Whitehead Rd. All lanes closed.
o Debris on Roadway on US-19 Northbound at Luther Wilson Rd. All lanes closed.
o Debris on Roadway on US-19 Northbound at Burley Brannen Rd.
o Flooding on SR-51 Both Directions at US-19 Northbound. All lanes closed.
Resources for Employees, Businesses, and Consumers
• The Florida Attorney General’s Office has activated the Florida price gouging hotline to accept reports of extreme price increases on essential commodities. The hotline number is (866) 966-7226.
• The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has organized Emergency Response Teams across 13 offices statewide, who are ready to deploy once it is safe to complete damage assessments and disaster inspections of licensed establishments.
• DBPR encourages Florida’s licensed contractors who provide post-storm construction-related services to register with its Florida Disaster Contractors Network at DCNOnline.org.
• DBPR’s Division of Hotel and Restaurants has proactively communicated with more than 83,000 restaurant and lodging licensees to provide them with flood preparation and post-storm food safety resources.
• DBPR has partnered with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association to waive pet policies and fees for evacuees at Florida-licensed lodging establishments.
• Through this effort, anti-price gouging information and resources have been provided to more than 49,000 lodging establishments.
