Waives weight requirements for emergency vehicles, positions state assets
As Hurricane Florence grows and threatens the southeastern U.S. coast, Governor Scott today spoke with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to offer resources and assistance. Florence strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane this afternoon and is forecast to impact the southeastern U.S. coast later this week. While Florida is not forecast to experience major impacts from Florence, Governor Scott is urging Floridians to remain vigilant and get prepared. According to the current National Weather Service forecast, the primary impact for Florence to Florida will be extremely dangerous surf conditions including life-threatening rip currents along the east coast.
Governor Scott said, “Today, on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma’s destructive landfall in the Florida Keys, we are reminded of just how horrific the impacts of a storm like Florence can be. In anticipation of the devastating impacts of Hurricane Florence to our neighboring states, I am offering all available resources from Florida to help prepare for, respond to and recover from Hurricane Florence.
“Today, I’ve called and spoken with the governors of Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia to let them know that I have proactively waived weight requirements for emergency supply and response vehicles and put our National Guard and high-water response assets on stand-by to immediately deploy and help where needed.
“In Florida, we’re fortunate to have the world’s best emergency management professionals available to lend their expertise and guidance. While our state is not currently forecast to experience major impacts from Hurricane Florence, families should remain vigilant because we know that these situations can change at any time. We will continue to monitor this storm and do everything possible to keep families in Florida and our neighboring states safe.”
Assistance that Florida is preparing for other states includes:
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) law enforcement officers are on stand-by to deploy to impacted areas with high-water vehicles;
- Florida’s National Guard is on stand-by to provide assistance to impacted areas;
- The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has coordinated with the Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to allow emergency supply and response vehicles to bypass all FDOT weigh stations through September 17, 2018.
Last year, following Hurricane Harvey, Florida deployed 129 FWC officers and support staff deployed to Texas, along with 62 vessels and other specialized equipment, to perform search and rescue missions. FWC officers were instrumental in rescuing more than 1,000 people who were affected by the devastating flooding around Houston. Additionally, last year, nearly 270 Florida volunteers deployed to Texas and Louisiana and Volunteer Florida coordinated the activities of ten disaster relief organizations in the area.
