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Thursday updates on Florida preparations for Hurricane Matthew

Thursday updates on Florida preparations for Hurricane Matthew
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STUART, Fla. – Thursday, Governor Rick Scott met with emergency management officials in Tallahassee and Stuart, and is continuing to travel the state to meet with emergency management officials and National Guardsmen as the state prepares for Hurricane Matthew, a life-threatening category three storm. Florida remains under both tropical storm and hurricane watches and warnings.

Governor Scott has remained in constant communication with state and local leaders, utility companies, sheriffs, and volunteer organizations who are working to ensure the state is prepared for the storm.

EVACUATIONS
More than 1.5 million Floridians are currently in evacuation zones.
o   Brevard County: Mandatory Evacuations of Merritt Island, barrier island, low-lying areas and mobile homes.

o   Broward County: Voluntary evacuations have begun for mobile homes and low lying areas.

o   Clay County: Voluntary evacuations have begun.

o   DeSoto County: Voluntary evacuations have begun for manufactured homes, RVs and low lying areas.

o   Duval County: Voluntary evacuations have begun.

o   Flagler County: Mandatory evacuations have begun.

o   Indian River: Mandatory evacuations have begun for barrier islands, mobile homes, and low lying areas.

o   Martin County: Voluntary evacuations have begun for barrier islands, low-lying areas, and mobile homes.

o   Miami-Dade County: Voluntary evacuations have begun for mobile homes, low-lying, and unstable structures.

o   Nassau County: Voluntary evacuations have begun.

o   Palm Beach County: Voluntary evacuations have begun for barrier islands, mobile homes, substandard housing, flood prone areas, and those living in high rises close to the Intracoastal Waterway. Mandatory evacuations begin today.

o   St. Johns County: Mandatory evacuation orders have begun.

o   St. Lucie County: Voluntary evacuations have begun for barrier islands, mobile homes, and low lying areas.  Mandatory evacuations begin today.

o   Volusia County: Mandatory evacuations have begun for barrier islands, low-lying areas, and mobile homes.

Floridians and visitors can go to FloridaEvacuates.com or download the Florida-Evacuates app to enter their location and see shelters available in their area.

SHELTERS
As of 6:00 AM this morning, more than 3,000 people were in more than 60 open shelters throughout Florida. The amount of available shelters is expected to more than double today. Currently Open Shelters:
o   Atlantic High School: Delray Beach, FL

o   Anderson Middle School (Special Needs): Stuart, FL

o   Arthur Ashe Middle School: Fort Lauderdale, FL

o   Bayside High School: Palm Bay, FL

o   Booker T. Washington Senior Center: City of Miami, FL

o   Boyton Beach High School: Boyton Beach, FL

o   Boynton Beach Community High School: Boynton Beach, FL

o   Bryceville Elementary School: Callahan, FL

o   Callahan Intermediate Bldg.: Callahan, FL

o   Coral Glades High School: Coral Springs, FL

o   Darwin Fuchs Pavilion (Pet Friendly): Miami, FL

o   Everglades High School: Miramar, FL

o   Falcon Cove Middle School: Weston, FL

o   Forest Hill High School: West Palm Beach, FL

o   Fox Trail Elementary School: Davie, FL

o   Ft. Pierce Central: Ft. Pierce, FL

o   Havert L. Fenn Center (Special Needs): West Palm Beach, FL

o   Hidden Oaks Middle School: Palm City, FL

o   Hillard Elementary School: Hillard, FL

o   Hillard Middle/High School: Hillard, FL

o   Imperial Estates Elementary School: Titusville, FL

o   Indian Ridge Middle School (Special Needs): Ft. Lauderdale, FL

o   Jensen Beach High School: Jensen Beach, FL

o   John Ferguson High School (Special Needs): Miami, FL

o   Keystone Heights High School: Jacksonville, FL

o   Kindred Hospital (Special Needs): Melbourne, FL

o   Lake Asbury Junior High School (Special Needs): Green Cove Springs, FL

o   Lake Shore Middle School: Belle Glade, FL

o   Lakewood Park Elementary School: St. Lucie, FL

o   Landmark Middle School (Special Needs): Jacksonville, FL

o   Lyons Creek Middle School: Coconut Creek, FL

o   Manatee Elementary School: Melbourne, FL

o   Mandarin Middle School Middle/High School: Jacksonville, FL

o   Meadowlane Intermediate Elementary School: Melbourne, FL

o   Michael M. Krop Senior Center: North Miami-Dade, FL

o   Millennium Middle School (Pet Friendly): Tamarac, FL

o   Mims Elementary: Mims, FL

o   New Renaissance Middle School: Miramar, FL

o   Oak Park Elementary (Special Need): Titusville, FL

o   Orange Park High School: Orange Park, FL

o   Pahokee Middle High School: Pahokee, FL

o   Palm Beach Central High School: West Palm Beach, FL

o   Palm Beach Gardens High School: Palm Beach Gardens, FL

o   Park Vista Community High School: Boynton Beach, FL

o   Parrish Med Hospital (Special Needs): Melbourne, FL

o   Port Salerno Elementary School: Palm City, FL

o   Port St John Community Center: Cocoa, FL

o   Quest Elementary (Special Needs), Melbourne, FL

o   Ralph Williams Elementary (Special Needs): Melbourne, FL

o   Robert Morgan Senior Center: Miami, FL

o   Rock Island Elementary: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

o   Samuel Gaines Elementary: Ft. Pierce, FL

o   Sherwood Elementary: Melbourne, FL

o   South Florida Fairgrounds (Special Needs): West Palm Beach, FL

o   South Mainland Community Center: Sebastian, FL

o   Starke Elementary: Starke, FL

o   Sunrise Elementary (Special Needs): Palm Bay, FL

o   Sunset School (Special Needs): Ft. Lauderdale, FL

o   Treasure Coast High School: St. Lucie, FL

o   Viera Regional Park Community Center: Melbourne, FL

o   Walter Butler Community Center/Bernice G. Jackson Park, FL

o   Warfield Elementary School: Indiantown, FL

o   West Boynton Recreation Center (Pet Friendly): Lake Worth, FL 

o   West Glades School Bldg 300 (Special Needs): Labelle, FL

Coastal counties are working on opening additional shelters this morning, including shelters for people with special needs, pets and general populations. A list of all open shelters will be available at http://floridadisaster.org/shelters/summary.htm
The state is working with the American Red Cross to identify shelter capacity both during and following the storm.
The state has a 110,000 meal capacity a day, which can be delivered using 24 Emergency Response Vehicles, 31 canteens, and mobile trailers

POWER
There are currently no power outages in Florida due to Hurricane Matthew.
Utilities have been put on notice to be prepared to quickly report outage and restoral information once applicable. The outage reporting is expected to begin today.
Power companies have pre-positioned personnel such linemen, transmission, substation and vegetation staff to assist with potential power outages. This includes staff members from Duke Energy, Florida Public Utilities, TECO Energy Company, and electric co-ops.
Utilities are contacting their mutual aid partners to determine availability if external resources are needed to restore services.
The state is monitoring the power grid for sufficient power in the state and the natural gas infrastructure for any damages that can cause a loss of service to power plants.
Governor Scott has spoken with utilities across the state to ensure utilities are pre-positioned and there are no unmet needs.

FUEL
The state is monitoring for supply, distribution or retail fuel shortages or issues, specifically for isolated incidents of individual retailers experiencing temporary fuel shortages. These individual retailers are being quickly refueled and fuel is readily available across Florida.
The state will continue to monitor fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.
The current fuel supply in the state will last for at least 6 days, even if all ports close.
The state is working with fuel partners and suppliers to increase the number trucks moving fuel from the ports to retail locations.
The state has contacted emergency fuel and equipment providers for status of emergency fuel supply and equipment.

SCHOOL CLOSURES
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) activated its emergency contact system for the east coast Florida school districts and colleges, and is monitoring closures made at the district and college levels.
District school closures include:
o   Alachua County – Closed Friday
o   Brevard County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Broward County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Bradford County Schools - Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Clay County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Dade County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Duval County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Lake County Schools - Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Flagler County –  Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Glades County – Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Hardee County – Closed Thursday and Friday

o   Hendry County – Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Highlands County –  Closed Friday.

o   Indian River County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Lake County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Martin County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Marion County – Closed Friday.
o   Monroe County –  Partially Closed Thursday.
o   Nassau County –  Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Okeechobee County - Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Orange County – Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Osceola County – Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Palm Beach County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Polk County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Putnam County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   St. Johns County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Seminole County Schools - Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   St. Lucie County – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Sumter County – Closing early tomorrow and closed Friday.
o   Union County – Closed on Friday. 
o   Volusia County Schools - Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Sumter County – Closing early Thursday. Closed Friday.
o   FAU Lab school – Closed Thursday and Friday.
o   Florida School for Deaf and Blind – Closed Thursday and Friday.

Universities/ college closures include:
o   University of North Florida: Closed Thursday through Saturday.

o   Embry Riddle University: Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Florida Atlantic University: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Florida International University: Closed Thursday through Friday.

o   Florida A&M University satellite campuses (in Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa): Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Nova Southeastern University: Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   University of Central Florida: Closed Thursday through Saturday.

o   Broward College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Daytona State College: Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Eastern Florida State College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Florida State College at Jacksonville: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Florida Gulf Coast University: Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Florida Polytechnic University: Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   Lake-Sumter State College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Indian River State College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Miami Dade College: Closed Thursday through Friday.

o   Palm Beach State College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Seminole State College of Florida: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   St. Johns River State College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Valencia College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   Broward College: Closed Thursday through Sunday.

o   South Florida State College: Closed Thursday and Friday.

o   University of Florida: Closed Friday.

o   Florida Keys Community College Middle Keys and Upper Keys Center: Closed Thursday

GOVERNMENT CLOSURES
County and state offices are closed Thursday and Friday in the following counties:
Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter and Volusia

MILITARY SUPPORT
As of this morning, Governor Scott has directed the Florida National Guard to activate a total of 2,500 National Guard members to support hurricane preparedness and response, especially to assist with staffing shelters.
In addition to this, Florida has over 4,000 National Guard members ready to be deployed if needed.
The National Guard is moving helicopters from Duval County to Hernando County and receiving additional aircraft, including heavy lift Boeing CH-47 Chinooks, through the Emergency Mutual Aid Compact. 

LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIRE FIGHTING AND SEARCH & RESCUE
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), and other partnering agencies have identified resources for deployment to respond to the storm and are preparing to assist with evacuations.
FWC has 164 personnel ready to deploy. In addition, there are 96 vessels staged for search and rescue and pre/post storm rec. FWC also has nine aircrafts available for public safety patrol.
FHP has 49 personnel assisting with evacuations in affected areas. FHP also has more than 300 troopers on standby for deployment if needed. FHP is also using aircraft monitoring for public safety patrol and road condition assessments.
State Emergency Response Plan (SERP) Coordinator and Regional Coordinators have been notified so staffers and resources can be prepared for deployment.
30 Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations (Department of Financial Services), Florida Fish and Wildlife Special Operations Group boat teams, and members of the Florida National Guard are staging outside of affected areas for deployment to perform search and rescue missions.
Three Urban Search and Rescue Task Force teams will be immediately available to assist with search and rescue based on the current track of the storm. More have been requested. Multiple specialized support teams with equipment are being staged to assist efforts.
State firefighting representative have worked with DOH to assist with tracking and patient movement if needed.
Consulting with federal partners to identify any assets that may be needed as state assets become committed during response activities.

PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL
DOH is working with healthcare facilities on potential evacuations and preparing for storm impacts.
DOH is also standing monitoring and supporting special needs shelter activations.
DOH has established daily calls with County Health Departments to ensure all needs are met.
DOH is preparing to activate “Rx Open,” an online interactive map that provides information on the status of pharmacies for citizens and first responders.
The state is preparing personnel for deployment, such as State Medical Response Teams and Special Needs Sheltering Teams, to provide assistance to counties affected by the storm.
AHCA is supporting the emergency preparedness efforts for hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other health care facilities by monitoring evacuation efforts and needs, as well as working with providers to ensure patients are receiving any necessary care and medication.
The following hospitals are evacuating patients:
o   Baptist Medical Center Beaches, Jacksonville Beach

o   Health First Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach

o   Florida Hospital Oceanside, Ormond Beach

o   Florida Hospital New Symrna, New Symrna Beach

o   Baptist Medical Center Nassau, Fernandina Beach

o   Wuesthoff Medical Center, Rockledge, FL

DOH will be updating hospital evacuation information at FLHealth.gov

TOLLS
Governor Scott directed DOT to suspend all tolls in the affected areas of the state, which includes the entire Florida Turnpike, Alligator Alley, Central Florida Expressway Authority and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority.

TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC WORKS

The state has held teleconferences with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) districts and agency partners - Army Corps of Engineers, Water Management Districts, Civil Air Patrol and Federal Highway Administration to ensure all infrastructure needs are met.
FDOT halted construction work on all FDOT projects on Interstates, Limited Access facilities, coastal and evacuation route roadways effective immediately in preparation for the approaching Hurricane Matthew. Contractors are being instructed to secure all equipment and open travel lanes by removing all unnecessary barricades, signs and drums.
FDOT District offices have placed emergency crews on standby, and are continuing to test and inventory equipment and monitor flood prone areas. FDOT will continue to reach out to county emergency operations centers directly to coordinate any necessary response actions including activating traffic counters, providing local evacuation support and providing maintenance of traffic and other assistance.
FDOT is coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard to lock down Intracoastal Waterway bridges along the eastern Florida coast prior to sustained winds of 40 mph. Intracoastal bridges in Palm Beach County will be locked down by 8 p.m. Wednesday. 
The Miami Tunnel remains closed. Tri-Rail is suspending service in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Drawbridges along the Miami River and the Intracoastal Waterway in Miami-Dade County have locked down, during which the bridge spans are locked in the down position and will not open for marine traffic.  This will not affect vehicular traffic crossing the bridges. Lock-down of bridges on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW) will began this morning.
Additional road and bridge closure information can be found at www.fl511.com.
Florida Highway Patrol traffic incidents by region can be found here.
The Florida Turnpike Enterprise has ensured service plazas along the Florida Turnpike have Road Rangers and fuel. Additional fuel, Road Rangers and resources such as variable message boards to guide evacuees are on standby.
Army Corps of Engineers and Water Management Districts are monitoring waterways and are prepared to adjust flows as necessary.
FDOT is monitoring live traffic counters in South Florida, Central Florida, and along the East Coast of Florida.

HUMAN SERVICES
Resources and Supplies
150 truckloads of water are being prepositioned around the state and 63 truckloads of water are holding in the in State Logistics Response Center (SLRC). In total, this includes more than 302,000 gallons of water. The SLRC also has a trailer of meals, which includes more than 10,000 meal kits.
Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and DEM Logistics are running projection models for human-service’s needs (food and sheltering) based on major hurricane impacts to Miami Dade County to Duval County, and Seminole County to Nassau County.
Food Safety Assessment teams on standby to monitor power outages and flooding to ensure safety at food establishments.
The Division of Real Estate Development and Management continues to provide office space for FEMA in Tallahassee and space in Orlando to assist in response efforts.
The Division of Real Estate Development and Management EOC has transferred to Orlando to coordinate the logistics staging area for equipment in response to

Volunteer Organizations
The state is establishing local points of contact with mass care organizations and volunteer agencies for potentially impacted counties.
The state is working with Volunteer Florida and other volunteers and donation agencies to identify available volunteers through Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and AmeriCorps to staff shelters if needed. Thirty-nine AmeriCorps teams statewide are on call for anticipated response to Hurricane Matthew. Volunteer Florida grantee Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach deployed AmeriCorps to the Palm Beach County EOC and Special Needs Shelter. Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) are also available.
The state is assessing available housing for responders and volunteers.
Volunteer Florida is identifying fixed kitchens from potentially impacted counties in anticipation of feeding needs.
Volunteer Florida is working with Community Emergency Response Teams that are on standby for possible deployment to impacted areas, with the Florida Baptist Convention to identify an in-kind warehouse space for multi-agency warehouse, and with Salvation Army and Red Cross for food distribution

Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD)
APD is communicating regularly with staff, providers, waiver support coordinators, and stakeholders about the hurricane and preparedness measures.
All group homes and individuals in Supported Living have their own disaster plans.
Regional Residential Planning Coordinators are assessing all available open beds in group homes statewide in case they are needed during or after the storm. Supported Living Coaches are checking on their customers in independent living to ensure they are safe and prepared. If someone needs to go to a group home during the storm, APD will authorize Respite and pay for the service.
Mutual Aid support from non-affected Regional Offices have been identified to support Regional Offices that may be impacted by the hurricane.

Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA)
DOEA is coordinating with Area Agencies on Aging across the state to communicate with clients, including elders and individuals with disabilities, and assist with evacuation coordination or transportation to local special needs shelters.
Meals continue to be served to homebound clients, and in preparation for the storm, extra frozen and shelf-stable meals have also been provided.
Staff from DOEA’s CARES program is ready and available to serve at Special Needs Shelters in affected areas.

Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA)
Three of the state veterans’ nursing homes operated by the FDVA are on the east coast of Florida.
All of these facilities have permanent generators and administrators are working to ensure staff and supplies are available for residents.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) operates a number of Florida-based medical centers and outpatient clinics in the watch and warning areas. The following VA clinics will be closed during the listed days:
All Miami VA Medical Center primary care and community based clinics, with the exception of Key West - Thursday and Friday
o   All West Palm Beach VA Medical Center primary care and community based clinics - Thursday and Friday

o   Viera Outpatient Clinic – Thursday - Saturday

o   Daytona Beach Outpatient Clinic - Thursday - Saturday

o   Port Orange Psychosocial Recovery & Rehabilitation Center (PRRC) - Thursday - Saturday

o   Orange City VA Clinic – Friday

o   St. Augustine Clinic -  Thursday - Friday

o   Jacksonville (all locations) – Thursday - Friday

o   St. Mary’s (GA) Clinic – Thursday – Friday

o   Palatka Clinic – Thursday - Friday
.

BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, & ECONOMIC STABILIZATION
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and DEM have activated the Florida Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (FLVBEOC) to help identify and alleviate unmet needs between businesses and response partners. They are also working with businesses to make sure they have what they need to prepare for the storm.
The FLVBEOC is available at www.flvbeoc.org
The state has activated the Private Sector Hotline at 850-410-1403. The hotline is available for business inquiries about the storm, preparedness information and post-impact information from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET.
If you need help finding your Florida’s property insurance company’s website and contact information, click HERE. For a list of licensed insurance agents in Florida, click HERE.
If you have questions about insurance coverage, you can call the Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services’ Insurance Helpline at 1-877-693-5236. You can find other hurricane season resources from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation HERE.
OIR will continue to communicate with DFS regarding the establishment of an insurance village, a mobile location for individuals to file insurance claims, if needed following the hurricane. OIR and DFS will also closely track insurance complaints to help protect Floridians.

HOTELS/ LODGING ACCOMMODATIONS
VISIT FLORIDA has activated the Emergency Accommodations Module to keep visitors informed and is working with local tourism partners to collect and share information regarding the open status for major retailers and hotels. More information can be found HERE.
VISIT FLORIDA has also compiled a list of available hotel accommodations for visitors who may be need to evacuate. To view available accommodations, click HERE.
VISIT FLORIDA and Expedia have partnered to identify cities and hotels which are further away from the projected storm path and have availability. Please visit www.expedia.com/florida to find available lodging.
Airbnb is expanding activation of the Disaster Response Tool beyond coastal South Carolina to include portions of Florida. Please visit https://www.airbnb.com/disaster/florida to find available lodging.
o   Airbnb is asking hosts to aid in this effort by listing their available rooms or homes on the platform to help house the growing number of evacuees.

o   Local residents impacted by Hurricane Matthew will be able to secure emergency accommodations through the tool free of charge from now through October 11th.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
The Department of Management Services’ Division of Telecommunications is currently monitoring telecommunication services to ensure first responders, residents and visitors are able to communicate response and recovery needs.
The division is working to increase the DEM bandwidth to provide consistent communication services for the state emergency response team.
The division is working with telecommunications partners on proactive and protective measures to prepare equipment, facilities and response personnel for Hurricane Matthew, as well as encouraging partners to report any communications outages or affects.
The state is coordinating with state, federal and industry partners, and is prepared to help assess impacts to telecommunications facilities and infrastructure following the storm. The state is also monitoring fuel assistance requests; currently there are no requests for assistance.
The division is coordinating staging areas for telecommunications mobile vehicles and additional wireless equipment for emergency response efforts.

SEAPORTS
·       The state is monitoring conditions at the following seaports and all are still open:

o   Duval – JAXPORT (*Seaport Access Closed)

o   Nassau - Port of Fernandina (*Seaport Access Closed)

o   Broward - Port Everglades (*Seaport Access Closed)

o   Palm Beach - Port of Palm Beach (*Seaport Access Closed)

o   Saint Lucie - Port of Ft. Pierce (*Seaport Access Closed)

o   Brevard - Port Canaveral (*Seaport Access Closed)

o   Miami-Dade - Port Miami (*Seaport Access Closed)

o   Monroe - Port of Key West (*Seaport Access Restricted: Closed North of Seven Mile Bridge)

o   Pinellas - Port St. Petersburg (*Seaport Access Restricted)

o   Hillsborough - Port Tampa (*Seaport Access Restricted)

o   Manatee – Port Manatee (*Seaport Access Restricted)

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (USACE)
·       A pre-storm inspection of the Herbert Hoover Dike has been completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  A post storm inspection will occur as soon as the Dike is accessible.  Additional routine inspections will begin once the lake exceeds 17 feet. The lake level is currently at 15.90 feet.
·       Discharges to the east of the Lake are currently ceased to provide area flood protection for residents of Martin and St. Lucie counties. Discharges will resume at 4,000 cubic feet per second to the west and 1,800 cubic feet per second to the east after the storm when it can be done safely.
·       Working with Water Management Districts to monitor waterways; prepared to adjust flows as necessary.

SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (SFWMD) (Carla)
·         SFWMD is gradually lowering canals.

Inspecting key parts of the flood control system and critical flood control structures.
Inspecting canals and levees for any obstructions.
Inspecting heavy equipment.
Ensuring adequate fuel supplies for pump stations and other equipment.
Securing items vulnerable to high wind at pump stations and laydown yards in Homestead, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection completed all pre-storm beach erosion surveys.
DEP is ready to deploy generators to water treatment plants if needed.
Household Hazardous Waste debris and drop off sites have been established in all 67 counties
More than 50 state parks and campgrounds are closed. To view the full list, click HERE.

CONTACTS:
The Florida Emergency Information Line (FEIL) has activated and can be reached at 1 (800) 342-3557.
State Emergency Operations Center Media Line: 850-921-0217.
Follow @FLSert or @FLGovScott on Twitter for live updates on Hurricane Matthew.
Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org/info to find information on shelters, road closures, and evacuation routes.