Gov. Scott: Updates on Hurricane Matthew preparedness efforts as storm approaches Florida

MARATHON, Fla. – 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 isTuesday 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.