Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is preparing to support Hurricane Florence evacuees and assist with response efforts.
“Last year, our neighbors selflessly supported our response efforts in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and now it’s our turn to assist others. Hurricane Florence is a serious storm, and we are ready and able to help protect our fellow Americans,” stated Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam.
In advance of Hurricane Florence, the department has done the following:
Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness
- Provided the U.S. Department of Agriculture with an inventory of Florida’s available USDA Food levels ready to support emergency meal disbursement in impacted areas.
Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement
- Secured a RECON Team and prepared a roster of officers ready to be deployed to assist with search and rescue missions, traffic control and emergency response efforts.
Florida Forest Service
- Prepared a roster of forestry personnel and high water trucks for deployment to assist with urban search and rescue missions;
- Prepared chainsaw strike teams for deployment to assist with debris and road clearing; and
- Secured an Incident Management Team for deployment to assist with emergency response efforts.
Division of Consumer Services
- Temporarily waived Florida law to enable certain generators to be relocated to North Carolina and South Carolina.
Division of Animal Industry
- Suspended interstate movement requirements for pets and livestock to allow citizens to quickly and easily evacuate areas expected to be impacted by Hurricane Florence. Additional details can be found in the movement waiver.
Division of Marketing via State Farmers Markets
- Coordinated with the American Red Cross to pre-position mass care supplies at the Suwannee Valley State Farmers Market.
- Provided use of the Suwannee Valley State Farmers Market as a staging area.
For more information and tips on hurricane preparedness, visit FloridaDisaster.org.
For more information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visit FreshFromFlorida.com.
