Shelters have opened in South Florida's Palm Beach County ahead of Hurricane Isaias.
The county opened four shelters at 8 a.m. They are only for residents of manufactured and mobile homes or substandard housing. This is the first time hurricane shelters have been opened during the coroanvirus pandemic.
"Residents are strongly urged to shelter in place if safe to do so. It is safer at home," a county bulletin said. "Those utilizing designated shelters will be screened, temperatures taken and required to wear facial coverings. Facial coverings are required for everyone over the age of 2.
The space between families will be larger, and residents are advised to take cleaning items with them including soap, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes or general household cleaning supplies.
Preparations for the storm took on a sense of urgency Saturday morning along the state's east coast, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told residents to get ready "immediately" and said hotels could be used to shelter those with COVID-19 symptoms.
“Even if the eye is off the coast there are going to be impacts. Folks need to be prepared for that and if you’re in an evacuation zone and you do get those orders to evacuate please heed that call," DeSantis said at a morning press briefing.
“Everyone should at this point, who’s in the potential path of this, have enough food, water and medicine to last 7 days. If you haven’t done that you still have time to do that but we really recommend that you finish those preparations immediately.”
A federal disaster declaration was approved that paves the way for federal funding.
(MORE: The Latest Forecast for Tropical Storm Isaias)
Plans to open shelters are evolving due to the coronavirus pandemic, but state and local officials are getting them ready. DeSantis said those living in mobile homes or other vulnerable structures may be advised to evacuate.
If evacuations are necessary, those with COVID-19 symptoms could be given hotel vouchers under a new partnership with the state and the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association. More than 400 hotels have expressed interest in the program.
DeSantis said there were no plans to evacuate hospitals at this time, but one small facility in Brevard County was moving COVID-19 patients.
A state of emergency was declared for 19 eastern Florida counties ahead of Hurricane Isaias.
Most of them are along the state's Atlantic coast, but inland counties including Okeechobee, Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Putnam and Clay are also included.
(PHOTOS: Hurricane Isaias Heads Toward Florida)
A hurricane warning was in effect for the counties of Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Brevard and Volusia. Hurricane watches and tropical storm watches and warnings were in effect for several other coastal areas.
The storm is expected to bring wind, rain and other potential impacts.
"Hurricane Isaias is moving toward Florida and conditions will deteriorate Saturday," weather.com senior meteorologist Linda Lam said. "The first outer bands from Isaias have already reached portions of the Florida coast and tropical storm conditions are expected as soon as this afternoon or evening over southern Florida. Rain, gusty winds and coastal impacts will increase overnight and spread northward into Sunday."
Shoppers line up at BJ's Warehouse Club in Merritt Island, Florida, ahead of Hurricane Isaias on Friday, July 31, 2020. Sandbags were being handed out in some counties, and residents rushed to stock up on groceries, gas and other supplies. Some businesses and homeowners put up hurricane shutters or plywood over windows.
Service was suspended Saturday for South Florida's Tri Rail commuter train system.
(MORE: Here Are Hurricane Isaias's Biggest Threats to the Florida Coast)
The Florida Department of Transportation prepared to shut down some bridges if winds get too high.
Miami-Dade County officials have 20 sites ready to go just in case, according to the Miami Herald.
Beaches, parks, marinas and golf courses operated by the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department will close by 8 p.m. Friday.
Broward County Mayor Dale Holness has said the county could open 34 shelters if Isaias becomes a serious threat, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
This hurricane season is made all the more difficult because of the coronavirus pandemic, and South Florida has seen a surge in infections in the past few weeks.
(MORE: Tropical Storm Isaias Could Be First Test of Florida's Coronavirus Hurricane Plans)
Officials in South Florida said now is the time to plan how and where to evacuate if that becomes necessary, while still maintaining social distancing and other protocols to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
"It’s a really strong reminder of how important it is to have your preparations in place," Miguel Hidalgo, an emergency management specialist with Broward County, told weather.com in a phone interview.
Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have seen more than 207,00 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 3,000 people have died because of the disease in those three counties, according data tracked by Johns Hopkins University. Overall, Florida has recorded more than 470,000 cases and at least 6,839 deaths.
Anthony
Perrone pulls the hurricane shutters closed on his home on July 31,
2020 in Lake Worth, Florida. Perrone said he closed the shutters to
prepare his home for the possible arrival of Hurricane Isaias. State-run COVID-19 testing sites in the affected Florida counties closed ahead of the storm. The state testing sites are drive-through and walk-up locations set up under tents.
They are expected to be closed until 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from the FDEM. Local county health departments will continue to offer free COVID-19 testing, the agency said.
President Donald Trump canceled a campaign event scheduled for Saturday in Miami-Dade County.
The U.S. Coast Guard set port conditions to X-ray at Cape Canaveral Friday morning, and said ports in Fernandina and Jacksonville would move to X-ray conditions Friday night. That alert level means sustained tropical force winds of between 39 and 73 mph are expected within 48 hours. Port of Miami and Port Key West were set at condition whiskey, which means winds are expected within 24 hours.
(MORE: In the Era of Coronavirus and Social Distancing, Should You Go to a Hurricane Shelter?)
Earlier, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he was concerned about keeping distance between people in shelters, not just for Isaias but for any storms this season.
"Look, if we have a major hurricane here then we're going to have to evacuate a number of people and then we're going to have to ... try to keep them separated as much as possible," Gimenez told CNN on Thursday. "That's a concern."
"When you're not testing is also a concern," he said. "But the greater danger, the immediate danger has to be taken care of first, and that's getting our people out of harm's way."
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
No comments:
Post a Comment