With Tropical Storm Colin bringing heavy rain and expected flooding to Florida, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday declared a state of emergency for 34 counties across a huge swath of North and Central Florida.
“Colin’s a broad-based storm,” Scott said during a news conference after he received a briefing at the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. The state of emergency was declared for Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Franklin, Gilchrist, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia and Wakulla counties.
Scott said the storm, which has moved through the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to make landfall late Monday afternoon or early evening. Among the concerns is coastal flooding.
“Be careful if you’re going to be close to the Gulf because we’re going to see storm surge,” he said.
-source: The News Service of Florida.
Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez Cantera will discuss the storm this afternoon on News Talk 1370 WCOA’s “Pensacola Speaks.”