Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam Announces Relief for Communities Affected by Tropical Storm Debby
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sterling Ivey
July 12, 2012
(850) 617-7737
Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam Announces Relief for Communities Affected by Tropical Storm Debby
Commissioner Putnam activates the Mosquito Control Response Team to Reduce Mosquito Populations in North Florida Counties
Tallahassee, FL – Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam today activated the Department’s Mosquito Control Incident Response Team (MCIRT) to provide emergency mosquito control to North Florida counties severely impacted by Tropical Storm Debby. Extremely high mosquito activity has been identified through overnight trapping in excess of 1000 mosquitoes per trap in certain areas.
“The heavy rains from Tropical Storm Debby have resulted in flooding and standing water in a lot of our Northern counties, and this has created tens of thousands of acres of mosquito breeding areas,” said Commissioner Putnam. “We are seeing levels of mosquitoes in these counties that are severely hampering recovery work and it is important to treat these areas so the counties can continue their recovery efforts.”
Eight counties have requested assistance from the state in treating their communities, and Department staff is evaluating the conditions. These include Suwannee, Columbia, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Bradford, Union, Taylor, and Madison.
While all counties except for Taylor and Madison have been identified as eligible for FEMA public assistance, Taylor and Madison are expected to be eligible soon.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is working closely with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Florida Department of Health, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and FEMA to provide mosquito control assistance to counties identified in the disaster declaration and who have asked for help from the state.
The MCIRT is a specialized unit that provides mosquito control in the aftermath of tropical storms, hurricanes, and floods. For more information on the services provided visit http://www.flsart.org/vector_control/
For more information about the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit www.FreshFromFlorida.com http://www.FreshFromFlorida.com/ .
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