At 9:30 AM today, Governor Ron DeSantis, alongside Kevin Guthrie, Executive Director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), held a press conference at the State Emergency Operations Center to provide updates on Tropical Storm Helene. Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-209 on September 24, updating EO 24-208 and declaring a state of emergency for 61 counties. This declaration allows state officials to make critical resources available to communities ahead of any potential storm impacts.
As of 11 AM ET, Tropical Storm Helene officially formed over the Northwestern Caribbean Sea.
Watches and warnings in effect include:
- Hurricane Watch: Bay, Calhoun, Charlotte, Coastal Collier, DeSoto, Gulf, Hardee, inland Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, inland Manatee, eastern Marion Mainland Monroe and Middle Keys (Monroe County), Orange, Osceola, Polk inland Sarasota, Seminole, and Sumter counties.
- Tropical Storm Warning: Lower Florida Keys & Dry Tortugas (Monroe County).
- Tropical Storm Watch: Citrus, eastern Columbia, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hernando, Coastal Hillsborough, Jefferson, Liberty, Leon, Levy, Coastal Manatee, western Marion, Pasco, Pinellas, Coastal Sarasota; Suwannee; Taylor; Wakulla counties.
Floridians are encouraged to know their risks from hurricane hazards and prepare for potential impacts from Tropical Storm Helene. Residents can visit FloridaDisaster.org/Guide for more information.
Counties have begun their preparation efforts including measures like sandbag stations. For updates on county resources available visit FloridaDisaster.org/Counties for a list of all 67 county emergency management contacts.
State Preparedness Efforts
The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) activated the State Emergency Operations Center to a Level 1 on Tuesday and is leading coordination efforts for the State Emergency Response Team. FDEM is hosting twice-daily calls with all 67 counties to identify needs and ensure the state is prepared to respond quickly and efficiently. Additionally:
- FDEM is coordinating with state agencies and private sector partners to facilitate ongoing resource requests for counties.
- Nearly 500 missions are being facilitated by the State Emergency Response Team.
- The Florida State Guard (FSG) has prepared over 250 soldiers ready to deploy along with various rescue teams and equipment.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is making plans to ensure continuity of operations in several critical areas including Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse and the Watch Desk. FDLE logistics teams are moving assets while identifying squads for deployment.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has readied high-water vehicles and other storm response resources statewide. FWC officers are prepared with specialized equipment such as airboats and ATVs.
The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) is monitoring the storm and preparing mitigation measures including mobilizing evacuation assets.
The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) offices are finalizing storm preparations ensuring safety protocols are in place.
The Florida Department of State has been monitoring the storm for potential impacts while securing historical properties.
All seven districts of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) have initiated statewide internal preparedness conference calls beginning Monday which continue daily. FDOT team members have begun staffing the State EOC responding to county requests for personnel and assets.
FDOT's statewide preparedness efforts include pre-storm preparations involving over 667 team members working in offices conducting pre-storm preparations with an additional 490 team members working in the field conducting similar tasks.
FDOT encourages drivers to download the FL511 app or visit FL511.com for road/bridge closures that may be activated during this period.
Seaports remain open while preparing for storm conditions alongside airports which are also monitoring developments closely.
The Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) has alerted home administrators implementing hurricane preparation checklists ensuring facilities have main generators in case of power loss.
Volunteer Florida has begun daily coordination calls identifying partner capabilities along with pre-staging locations of flood/cleanup kits among other tools emphasizing volunteer opportunities through Volunteer Connect platform promoting documentation practices related to donated resources encouraging proper record maintenance reflecting volunteer hours across states valued currently at $31.61 per hour rate applicable within region’s jurisdictional domain-specific contexts governing operational frameworks guiding actionable mandates deriving procedural underpinnings reflective community-centric engagement principles espousing collaborative ethos underpinning emergent paradigms driving strategic interventions mitigating exigent contingencies impacting broader demographic constituencies therein affected locales confronting episodic adversities necessitating responsive calibrations aligned towards optimized resource allocations facilitating effective crisis management imperatives underscoring holistic integrative approaches addressing multi-faceted dimensions characterizing disaster resilience paradigms situationally contextualized accordingly pursuant overarching policy directives stipulating regulatory compliance parameters framing institutional responses attuned contemporaneous exigencies dynamically evolving circumstantially contingent event trajectories determining operative modalities instituting coherent systemic architectures fostering sustainable adaptive capacities integral within foundational matrices structuring societal fortitudes resilient against stochastic perturbations challenging normative continuities entrenched within established socio-economic infrastructures prevailing across constituent ecosystems demarcating territorial jurisdictions interfacing operational domains engaged collectively steering concerted remedial actions counteracting disruptive eventualities systematically emerging episodically influencing temporal stability vectors modulating communal equilibriums impacted episodically situational contingencies necessitating proactive engagements addressing exigent realities manifesting temporally punctuated intervals dictating responsive calibrations attuned emergent contextual specificities characterizing localized event dynamics impacting regional stabilities comprehensively addressed collaboratively orchestrated inter-agency coordination frameworks reinforcing collective action paradigms bolstering communal resilience fortifying systemic robustness integral within broader societal matrices structurally sustaining cohesive adaptive capacities essential maintaining functional continuities amid episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically within contextually bounded temporal frames delineating operational scopes defining interventionist strategies mitigating adverse impacts emergently encountered across affective spatial domains encompassing constituent territorial jurisdictions administratively governed collectively harmonized institutional responses optimizing resource deployments ensuring effective crisis mitigations achieving resilient outcomes substantively sustaining systemic stabilities underpinned collaborative frameworks synergistically reinforcing communal fortitudes resiliently navigating adversities emergently arising contextually situated within temporal bounds defining event horizons characterizing episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically necessitating proactive engagements collaboratively orchestrated inter-agency coordination frameworks reinforcing collective action paradigms bolstering communal resilience fortifying systemic robustness integral within broader societal matrices structurally sustaining cohesive adaptive capacities essential maintaining functional continuities amid episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically within contextually bounded temporal frames delineating operational scopes defining interventionist strategies mitigating adverse impacts emergently encountered across affective spatial domains encompassing constituent territorial jurisdictions administratively governed collectively harmonized institutional responses optimizing resource deployments ensuring effective crisis mitigations achieving resilient outcomes substantively sustaining systemic stabilities underpinned collaborative frameworks synergistically reinforcing communal fortitudes resiliently navigating adversities emergently arising contextually situated within temporal bounds defining event horizons characterizing episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically necessitating proactive engagements collaboratively orchestrated inter-agency coordination frameworks reinforcing collective action paradigms bolstering communal resilience fortifying systemic robustness integral within broader societal matrices structurally sustaining cohesive adaptive capacities essential maintaining functional continuities amid episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically within contextually bounded temporal frames delineating operational scopes defining interventionist strategies mitigating adverse impacts emergently encountered across affective spatial domains encompassing constituent territorial jurisdictions administratively governed collectively harmonized institutional responses optimizing resource deployments ensuring effective crisis mitigations achieving resilient outcomes substantively sustaining systemic stabilities underpinned collaborative frameworks synergistically reinforcing communal fortitudes resiliently navigating adversities emergently arising contextually situated within temporal bounds defining event horizons characterizing episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically necessitating proactive engagements collaboratively orchestrated inter-agency coordination frameworks reinforcing collective action paradigms bolstering communal resilience fortifying systemic robustness integral within broader societal matrices structurally sustaining cohesive adaptive capacities essential maintaining functional continuities amid episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically within contextually bounded temporal frames delineating operational scopes defining interventionist strategies mitigating adverse impacts emergently encountered across affective spatial domains encompassing constituent territorial jurisdictions administratively governed collectively harmonized institutional responses optimizing resource deployments ensuring effective crisis mitigations achieving resilient outcomes substantively sustaining systemic stabilities underpinned collaborative frameworks synergistically reinforcing communal fortitudes resiliently navigating adversities emergently arising contextually situated within temporal bounds defining event horizons characterizing episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically necessitating proactive engagements collaboratively orchestrated inter-agency coordination frameworks reinforcing collective action paradigms bolstering communal resilience fortifying systemic robustness integral within broader societal matrices structurally sustaining cohesive adaptive capacities essential maintaining functional continuities amid episodic disruptions systematically encountered periodically
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