Today, Florida Governor DeSantis provided updates on Tropical Storm Debby at the State Emergency Operations Center with Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue and Florida National Guard Major General John D. Haas.
As the storm approaches, landfall is expected on Monday in the northern part of the peninsula and panhandle. Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 24-157 on August 2, amending EO 24-156, and declaring a state of emergency for a total of 61 counties.
As of 2:00 PM EDT, Tropical Storm Debby is located about 125 miles west-southwest of Tampa. On the forecast track, the center of the storm will move across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico through tonight and reach the Florida Big Bend coast Monday morning.
Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph with higher gusts and rapid strengthening forecasted. Debby is expected to become a hurricane by tonight before it reaches the Florida Big Bend area.
- Hurricane Watches have been issued for: Levy and Coastal Franklin Counties.
- Hurricane Warnings have been issued for: Coastal Wakulla, Dixie, Taylor, Jefferson, Madison, and Lafayette Counties.
- Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for: Lower Florida Keys Including the Dry Tortugas (Coastal Monroe), Mainland Monroe, Coastal Collier, Coastal Lee, Coastal Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Levy, Leon, Inland Wakulla, and Franklin Counties.
- Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for: the Middle Florida Keys (Coastal Monroe), Inland Lee, Inland Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Polk, Lake, Liberty, and Gadsden Counties.
- Storm Surge Warnings are in effect for: Aripeka northward to Indian Pass (Coastal Hernando, Citrus, Levy, Dixie, Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla, and Franklin Counties).
- Storm Surge Watches are in effect for: Bonita Beach northward to Aripeka (Coastal Lee, Charlotte (including Charlotte Harbor), Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough (including Tampa Bay), Pinellas, Pasco).
- A Coastal Flood Watch has been issued for the Florida Keys.
- River Flood Warnings are in effect for: several Big Bend and Suwannee River Valley.
FDEM is hosting daily calls with all 67 counties to identify needs and to ensure the state is prepared to respond quickly and efficiently. Additionally, FDEM is coordinating with state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private sector partners for any potential resource requests.
- The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) continues to coordinate closely with state EOC officials and partners.
- All 7 Districts, the Central Office, and FDOT’s Turnpike Enterprise initiated statewide internal preparedness conference calls on Monday, July 29, which continue daily.
- FDOT Statewide Preparedness Efforts Include:
- Clearing shoulders in preparation for potential Emergency Should Use (ESU).
- Currently analyzing flooding vulnerabilities for major roadways and bridges.
- Inspecting and clearing drainage systems, monitoring flood-prone and currently saturated areas, and pre-positioning pumps as appropriate.
- Securing maintenance yards, active construction projects, high mast lighting, rest areas/welcome centers, service plazas, and weigh stations.
- Barges at the Howard Frankland Bridge construction site are secured.
- Replenishing fuel reserves, checking generator readiness, and pre-positioning assets as appropriate.
- Completing repairs on malfunctioning vehicles and equipment in preparation for deployment.
- Initiated communication with modal partners – seaports, airports, railroads, transit, and spaceports. All partners are currently in monitoring posture.
- Staging ITS trailers, as well as drone teams and equipment are being prepped and ready to deploy as needed.
- FDOT encourages drivers to download the FL511 app or visit FL511.com for road/bridge closures and potential detours that may be activated. Remember to always follow the direction of local law enforcement and emergency personnel.
- Over 50 crews have been across the state inspecting and clearing drainage systems, monitoring flood-prone and currently saturated areas, and pre-positioning pumps as appropriate.
- Resources are staged strategically in safe locations that are in close proximity to the projected path to allow for quick implementation following the passage of a storm
- Over 1200 generators
- Nearly 70 pumps
- Over 230 pieces of heavy equipment and trucks
- Bridges in the potential impact area are closely monitored for flooding and wind speeds. Once wind speeds increase beyond 40 mph, FHP may deem it necessary for closure. Law enforcement will then stop traffic from crossing bridges to ensure the safety of motorists.
- FDOT has staged resources to perform road and bridge inspections after the storm
- 120 Bridge Inspectors are on standby to quickly deploy in the field.
- FDOT hs 120 crews on standby to swiftly start performing Cut-and-Toss Operations to clear state roads and interstates.
- FDOT has 6 drone teams on standby to assist across the transportation system as needed.
- Nearly 150 other crews are on standby to assist with various emergency response efforts, such as damage assessment, flooding, traffic signals outages, etc.
- FDOT waived standard size and weight restrictions for commercial vehicles transporting fuel, emergency equipment, services, supplies, and agriculture commodities and citrus. Commercial vehicles now will have an increased weight restriction to transport goods.
- With this order, utility trucks are being waived through weigh stations to quickly pre-stage across the state. FDOT also worked with Alabama and Georgia to implement this same action in order to quickly get utility trucks to Florida and preposition for utility restoration.
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