Irma Could Cost ‘Billions Upon Billions’
September 12, 2017
Local curfews were in place throughout the state, much of the Florida Keys remained closed and millions of people continued to lack electricity as cleanup work expected to reach into the billions of dollars began Monday in the wake of deadly Hurricane Irma.
While businesses slowly reopen, the state is dealing with widespread flooding, from storm surges of 4 to 8 feet along both coasts to flash flooding in Northeast Florida.
Gov. Rick Scott, who flew over hard-hit areas Monday, said damage along the Southwest coast, where Irma made a second landfall Sunday, included roofs off homes, boats tossed, flooding and sand across roads. But overall, he said the conditions appeared “not as bad as we thought the storm surge would do.”
However, he depicted the destruction in the Keys, which experienced the first landfall, as “horrible.”
“There is devastation, and I just hope everybody survived,” Scott said during an afternoon press conference at the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Miami in Opa-locka.
Scott viewed the damage while flying on a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 plane Monday morning.
“I know for our entire state, but especially the Keys, it’s going to be a long road. There is a lot of damage,” Scott said. “I know everyone wants to get back to normal. I know everyone wants to get started, but you’ve got to be patient. We’ve got to get the first responders to the Keys. We’ve got to get water going again. We’ve got to get electricity going again. We’ve got to get sewers going again. It’s going to take a lot of time.”
At least four deaths have been tied to the storm, including a Hardee County sheriff’s deputy and a Florida Department of Corrections officer, who were involved in a car crash.
Scott declined to speculate on the potential for additional loss of life from the storm. He traveled across the state during the past week warning Floridians to evacuate from vulnerable areas, as Irma cut a deadly path through the Caribbean as a massive Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds reaching 185 mph.
“I don’t want anybody to die, so I hoped everybody listened to what we were talking about. We’ll find out over time if people did or not,” Scott said. “You know the days run together, but I remember the morning when the hurricane was hitting, the roads were empty. So I think people did leave their homes and got off the roads.”
Scott also declined to speculate on the potential costs of the storm, saying the numbers will first be compiled by individual counties.
In requesting federal disaster relief Sunday, Scott said the state had already spent $75 million on Irma. President Donald Trump later approved the request.
Congressman Carlos Curbelo, a Republican whose district includes all of Monroe County and parts of southwest Miami-Dade, said it will cost “billions upon billions upon billions of dollars” to restore the Keys and South Florida.
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Miami-Dade County, vowed to push federal lawmakers to provide funding for the relief efforts.
“We found it for Hurricane Harvey, we’re going to band together and find it for the residents who are survivors of Hurricane Irma,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
An initial estimate from Moody’s Analytics on Monday projected property destruction from Irma between $64 billion and $92 billion.
The storm, combined with Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas, could cause a further $20 billion to $30 billion hit to the nation’s economic output, lowering the third quarter gross domestic product estimate to 2.5 percent from 3 percent, according to Moody’s Analytics.
For Florida, the impacts will depend on demands placed on insurance companies and the levels of needed government funding, as well as how quickly Florida’s tourism industry can rebound. Also, Moody’s added that the fourth-quarter numbers could be boosted because of reconstruction from both storms.
State Senate Banking and Insurance Chairwoman Anitere Flores, a Miami Republican whose district also covers the Keys, said the state has to make sure state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has the funds to cover individual property-insurance claims, particularly from the Keys.
“We feel that because this storm was not as bad as it could have been, that Citizens will not have to go into actual assessment mode, and to assess people who are not Citizens property holders,” Flores said. “Citizens’ reserves are approximately $9 billion. So the question that we have to figure out in the next couple of days is of that, how many Citizens property holders were at a total loss.”
House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, has raised the possibility of a post-storm special session “should any recovery efforts require legislative authorization.”
As of Monday afternoon, 6.7 million homes and businesses were without power across Florida, according to the State Emergency Response Team.
Florida Power & Light, the largest utility in the state, reported 3.5 million of its 5 million customer accounts were out.
St. Petersburg-based Duke Energy, with about 1.8 customer accounts, was working to restore power to nearly 1.3 million customers.
Tampa Electric reported more than 300,000 accounts had been knocked offline.
More than 820,000 were without power in Miami-Dade County, 600,000 in Broward and 530,000 in Palm Beach County.
Nearly 430,000 homes and businesses were out in Pinellas County. More than 300,000 were out in both Orange and Lee counties. Collier, Duval, Brevard, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Volusia each had more than 200,000 homes and businesses in the dark.
FPL President and Chief Executive Officer Eric Silagy estimated Monday that up to 9 million people served by his company, 90 percent of its customers, have been impacted.
While up to 1 million accounts have been restored, some customers in harder hit areas may have to wait weeks for full restoration, Silagy said.
“We’ve actually had over 5 million outages across our territory,” Silagy said during a morning press conference. “That, frankly, is unprecedented. We’ve never had that many outages. I don’t think any utility in the country ever has. It is by far the largest in the history of our company.”
Meanwhile, all 7,935 members of the Florida Army and Air National Guard have been deployed, conducting search and rescue, law-enforcement support and humanitarian assistance.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and two amphibious ships, the USS Iwo Jima and USS New York, have been deployed to assist the state in search and rescue operations.
More than 200,000 people remained Monday afternoon in 585 shelters opened throughout the state.
The Florida Highway Patrol has started escorting utility convoys into areas without power, and Scott said the state law enforcement officers will do the same when the Port Tampa and Port Canaveral reopen and fuel trucks begin to travel.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Gov. Scotts Visits Evacuees, Local Officials In Escambia County
September 11, 2017
Gov. Rick Scott met with Hurricane Irma evacuees and local emergency officials in Escambia County Sunday afternoon.
Scott flew into Pensacola and headed first to the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center to meet with local officials.
He also visited the Pensacola Bay Center which is temporary home to about 200 Irma evacuees.
“We will make it through this together,” Scott said while in Pensacola.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott and Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward visiting with evacuees and volunteers at the Pensacola Bay Center late Sunday afternoon. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
All Escambia Schools Open On Tuesday
September 11, 2017
Escambia County (FL) School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas has announced that schools will resume all normal operations on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017.
Burglars Strike Davisville Convenience Store Early Monday
September 11, 2017
Authorities are searching for two suspects that burglarized a Highway 97 convenience store early Monday morning.
The duo, believed to be a male and a female, smashed their way through the front door of the Davisville Marathon (formerly the Davisville BP) about 3 a.m. Surveillance video shows they were in the store less than a minute.
The suspects took cigarettes and beer, according to the store owner. Law enforcement alerted to the incident when the burglar alarm went off.
The store, which is located in a rural area on Highway 97 south of the state line, has been burglarized several times in the past.
Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Eight Irma Evacuees Injured In Escambia County Van Crash
September 11, 2017
Eight Hurricane Irma evacuees from Central Florida were injured in a single vehicle accident Sunday in Escambia County.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 44-year old Johnny Lamar Albritton, Jr. of Crystal River fell asleep at the wheel, causing the van he was driving to veer off the roadway on I-10 east of Davis Highway about 6:20 Sunday morning. The van struck a light pole, a concrete camera pole and then rolled over against a tree.
Albritton and seven passengers were transported to area hospitals with injuries. Six of those passengers were in the back of the van with no seat belts or seats. A dog in the van did not survive.
Albritton was charged with driving with a suspended license, careless driving and no child restraint for a child under 5-years old.
Photos for NorthEscamba.com, click to enlarge.
Gulf Power Crews Repairing Local Outages, Then Ready To Help Southeast
September 11, 2017
As Tropical Storm Irma winds push through Northwest Florida, Gulf Power is already working to restore power and is staged and ready to deploy crews to help rebuild and restore impacted areas.
Based on current forecasts, the energy provider predicts that approximately 20,000 customers in Northwest Florida may lose power as a result of severe winds — with the majority of the outages occurring in and around the Bay County area. As of 10 a.m., Gulf Power crews had already restored power to nearly 4,600 customers, mostly in the Bay County region.
As the storm continues to move and shift, that number may change. Customers in the hardest hit areas should prepare to be without power for, possibly, up to two days.
“Even with Irma’s downgrade to a tropical storm, Irma has caused widespread damage across the state and continues to cause power outages in Northwest Florida,” said Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power spokesperson. “Our crews are working to restore power for Gulf Power’s customers and we are staged and ready to deploy to help rebuild the power grid in some of the hardest impacted areas across the Southeast.”
Gulf Power line crews will work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power. However, there’s a point where it is no longer safe for crews to work. Winds must be below 35 mph for crews to safely begin restoring power.
Rogers added that Gulf Power will be bringing additional lineworkers from the western end of their service area to ensure there are enough resources to get the lights back on quickly and safely, and then the plan is to deploy crews to help in other affected areas in the Southeast that are predicted to have major to catastrophic damage.
“Restoring power to our Gulf Power customers will be our priority. After we take care of everyone right here at home, we’re prepared to send more than 100 personnel to help rebuild the power grid and hope to our neighbors in the Southeast,” said Rogers. “Our crews train throughout the year and are prepared to work until everyone’s lights are back on.”
Gulf Power offered the following safety tips:
- Treat any downed wire as if it is energized because you can’t tell by looking if a downed wire is live or not. Telephone or cable television wires that are touching a power line could become energized and should also be avoided. Call 911 to report the location of any downed lines.
- Don’t attempt to repair the electrical system or pull tree limbs off lines. Let Gulf Power crews perform this potentially dangerous work.
- Stay clear of areas where there is a lot of debris or downed trees because they could conceal an energized power line. Also stay clear of chain link fences which may be energized if touching a downed line.
- If you have an electric generator, please ensure that you have isolated your home or business from the utility electrical service lines by opening main breakers or other devices. Do not connect portable generators to your household electrical wiring. This can cause serious injury to you and to our crews working on the lines in your neighborhood. Connect only essential appliances – such as freezers and refrigerators — directly to the generator.
- If your power is off, turn off large appliances and air conditioners and wait 10 to 15 minutes after power has been restored before turning them back on.
- If there is damage to your meter box or the pole on top of your meter box, you must first have an electrician make repairs before we can restore your service.
- If there is flooding in your home or business, we may be unable to restore electric service until the building is inspected by city or county code officials.
- Stay away from areas where our crews are working. If driving, follow road signs, drive cautiously and follow directions in the area of a work crew.
- Please be patient. Our crews will work as fast as safety allows. Before neighborhood lines can be worked on, our crews must first repair larger lines that bring power to neighborhoods.
Irma: Federal Aid Approved For Florida
September 11, 2017
Florida was approved Sunday for federal disaster relief as the powerful, wide and deadly Hurricane Irma made its second landfall of the day.
And the system might still be more than a day from leaving the state.
Gov. Rick Scott announced that President Donald Trump approved his request for federal storm relief about 4 p.m.
The announcement came after Irma made its second Florida landfall on Marco Island, a barrier island south of Naples in Collier County, at 3:35 p.m. Irma came ashore as a Category 3 storm, with 115 mph winds.
Irma had earlier made landfall about 9 a.m. at Cudjoe Key — less than 30 miles northeast of Key West — with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph. Water was reported to be covering U.S. 1 in Monroe County.
By 5 p.m., Irma had weakened to a Category 2 storm, with 110 mph maximum sustained winds. At the time, the storm was located about 5 miles north of Naples. The system had picked up its pace, moving north at 14 mph.
The National Hurricane Center reported the potential for storm surges of 5 to 15 feet along the Gulf Coast.
“The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves,” the center said in the 5 p.m. advisory.
Nearly 2 million homes and businesses had already experienced power outages.
Most had occurred across South Florida, according to Florida Power & Light, which was reporting crews working to restore power Sunday morning as far north as Manatee and Brevard counties.
FPL noted that more than 350,000 outages had already been restored, but that “full restoration efforts will not begin until tomorrow (Monday) given Irma’s movement has slowed considerably; as a result, customers should plan for significantly prolonged outages.”
Irma had slowed to a 9 mph pace as it went through the Keys on Sunday.
Duke Energy Florida was reporting more than 15,000 outages in the Tampa Bay region Sunday afternoon.
Trump’s approval of a major disaster declaration allows federal money to be used to reimburse the state and local communities for expenses tied to such things as emergency operations centers, evacuations, sheltering and debris removal.
Direct federal financial assistance will also be available for families impacted by the storm in Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough; Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
“As Hurricane Irma moves through Florida, Gov. Scott will work with President Trump and FEMA to approve more funding to additional communities affected by the storm,” the governor’s office said.
Scott had placed all of Florida under a state of emergency Monday.
At least three deaths have been attributed to the storm.
One death occurred in a crash in the Keys.
Meanwhile, in Hardee County, sheriff’s Deputy Julie Bridges, a 13-year veteran driving home after working at an evacuation shelter, and Sgt. Joseph Ossman, who had been with the Florida Department of Corrections for 21 years, both died in an early morning head-on crash.
Among other developments Sunday:
— The state reduced the number of people reported to be in shelters.
After announcing more than 127,000 people were in the more than 460 shelters opened throughout the state Sunday morning, the numbers were later posted at 116,000 in 530 shelters.
Another 75 shelters for people with special needs had received 12,700, a number up 700 from earlier Sunday.
— All public schools, state colleges and state universities and state government offices have been ordered closed on Monday. A number of county school districts, where schools have been converted into shelters, will remain closed later into the week.
— There will be no Florida Lottery drawings during Hurricane Irma.
Gov. Rick Scott signed an executive order Sunday to temporarily halt the state games. Players are advised to keep their tickets.
“Makeup daily drawings will take place as soon as possible after the potentially catastrophic impacts of Hurricane Irma have passed,” the lottery said in a prepared statement. “Players already holding tickets will still be eligible to win.”
— All Florida seaports except the Port of Pensacola had been closed by the U.S. Coast Guard.
by The News Service of Florida
Latest Local Escambia County Update On Hurricane Irma
September 10, 2017
Here is the latest Escambia County information on Hurricane Irma:
New Information is Highlighted
Current Situation
- There ARE NO evacuations ordered for Escambia County residents, no matter the location.
- Escambia County Emergency Operation Center is at a level 3, or monitoring level. We will continue to closely monitor the situation to provide our residents with the most up-to-date hurricane information.
- No bridge closures are anticipated due to wind, BUT we will monitor wind speeds to ensure safety. Escambia County works with law enforcement to close bridges for safety at sustained (not gusts) wind speeds typically of 39 MPH or greater. The current forecast does not show sustained winds of that speed.
- The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated to level 1, which is a full-scale, 24-hours-a-day activation. DEM estimates that 6.5 million Floridians have been ordered to evacuate.
Weather Update from the National Weather Service Mobile
According to the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama, Irma is forecast to remain a major hurricane through the weekend. The LOCAL impacts include:
- Wind – 20 to 30 mph this afternoon and tonight, becoming 25 to 35 mph with gusts as high as 40 mph on Monday
- Flash Flooding – none
- Surge – none
- Tornadoes – none
- Local Rain Totals for Escambia County – less than 1 inch
Host Shelters
- As requested by the state, Escambia County and the American Red Cross are opened a shelter at the Pensacola Bay Center located at 201 E. Gregory St. at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8. The shelter is for south Florida evacuees. There are currently NO EVACUATIONS ordered for Escambia County.
- General shelter population:168
- Special needs shelter population:4
- Animal shelter population: 44
- The Escambia County Equestrian Center is being open as a host shelter for evacuees’ horses. Stalls and RV sites are available at a first come, first served basis. The stall fees have been waived. For more information, visit https://myescambia.com/our-services/parks-and-recreation/equestrian-center/equestrian-center-as-a-storm-shelter.
- Horse population: 80
- Additional shelters will be opened as needed and directed by the state of Florida.
- Visit floridadisaster.org/shelters/summary.aspx to find information on shelters in your area. This site is being updated as shelters open throughout the day.
- FEMA is also hosting shelter information on its mobile app which can be found at fema.gov/mobile-app.
Bob Sikes Bridge Tolls
- Tolls on the Bob Sikes toll plaza will be reinstated at 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11.
- FDOT tolls have not yet be reinstated by the state.
Volunteering & Donations
- Florida needs 1,000 volunteer nurses to help at our special needs shelters. Nurses who can volunteer can email BPRCHDPreparedness@FLHealth.gov Nurses can also email HelpFL@FLhealth.gov.
- Volunteer Florida is coordinating with volunteer organizations across the state and has partnered with the American Red Cross to provide shelter operations training to volunteers and AmeriCorps grantees. Floridians who would like to volunteer can register at http://redcross.org/volunteer
- Gov. Rick Scott activated the Florida Disaster Fund to support individuals who are impacted by Hurricane Irma. The Florida Disaster Fund helps provide financial support to Florida’s communities in times of disaster. To make a contribution, please visit www.FloridaDisasterFund.org or text DISASTER to 20222 to make a one-time donation of $10.
- Please do not donate unsolicited goods such as new or used clothing, miscellaneous household items, medicine, or perishable food at this time. When used personal items are donated, the helping agencies must redirect their staff away from providing direct services to survivors in order to sort, package, transport, warehouse, and distribute items that may not meet the needs of disaster survivors. Cash donations offer voluntary agencies and faith-based organizations the most flexibility to address urgently developing needs.
NAS Pensacola
- NAS Pensacola will close to non-essential personnel form 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10 until further notice. All military, civilian and contract personnel should contact their supervisors for instructions.
- All public attractions, e.g., National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Lighthouse, etc., will be closed, however Barrancas National Cemetery will be open during normal visitation hours.
Residential Garbage Service
- There are currently no changes in the city of Pensacola or ECUA residential pickup schedules.
Schools
- Gov. Rick Scott is directing all public K-12 schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices to close Monday, Sept. 11.
- All University of West Florida locations are closed and classes are canceled Monday, Sept. 11. On-campus housing continues to operate as usual. The Health, Leisure and Sports Facility hours are 12 to 6 p.m. and the Aquatic Center hours are 1 to 6 p.m. through Monday, Sept. 11. All other services, activities and events, including all home athletic events, are cancelled.
- Pensacola Christian Academy plans to be open for regular classes and events on Monday, September 11. Pensacola Christian College also will be open for regular classes and events on Monday, September 11.
City, County & State Offices
- All city of Pensacola offices are open Monday, Sept. 11.
- All Escambia County offices are open Monday, Sept. 11.
- Governor Rick Scott has directed all state offices in all 67 Florida counties to close Monday, Sept. 11
Court System
- All courts in Escambia County, Okaloosa County, and Santa Rosa County shall remain open Monday, September 11, 2017.
- For news and announcements concerning the courts of the First Judicial Circuit, you may visit www.FirstJudicialCircuit.org or follow on Twitter.
VA Joint Ambulatory Care Center in Pensacola
- The Pensacola, Eglin and Panama City Beach VA clinics will be closed Monday, Sept. 11.
- Affected VA staff at those three clinics will be in Authorized Absence status, for Monday, Sept. 11.
- Currently, Tuesday, Sept. 12 will be a normal work day and employees should report as scheduled.
Florida Department of Health – Escambia
- All FDOH-Escambia clinics, including WIC and Immunizations clinics, and all other services provided by FDOH-Escambia, will be suspended on Friday, September 8, 2017 and on Monday, September 11, 2017. Clients with appointments scheduled for these dates, may call 850-595-6500 on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, to reschedule their appointment.
- ProMed Dental services at FDOH-Escambia’s Northside and Molino Service Centers will be suspended on Friday September 8, 2017 and on Monday, September 11, 2017. Patients who have dental appointments with ProMed Dental may call 850-912-8923 or 850-471-6983 for rescheduling.
- Escambia Community Clinics pediatric and dental services at FDOH-Escambia’s Fairfield Drive Service Center will have normal operations. Patients who have dental or pediatric clinic appointments with ECC will still be able to receive their scheduled services.
Pensacola International Airport
- While many southern and eastern Florida airports are closed, Pensacola International Airport is currently open and will remain open as long as Hurricane Irma does not severely impact our area.
- Passengers with scheduled travel to impacted areas are strongly encouraged to monitor the status of their flight by frequently visiting their airline’s website.
Want To Become Involved In The Cantonment Community?
September 10, 2017
The Cantonment Improvement Committee will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at the Carver Park Resource Center at 208 Webb Street. Everyone in the Cantonment community is invited to attend and join the effort to do great things for the area. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Visitations Canceled At All State Prisons, South Fla. Inmates Evacuated
September 10, 2017
Visitations remain canceled at all Florida prisons this weekend due to Hurricane Irma, including those at Century and Santa Rosa correctional institutions.
All weekend visitations are canceled, according to the Florida Department of Corrections, due to travel restrictions and to ensure staff resources can be maximized for hurricane response. The cancellation includes all major institutions, work camps, community release centers and annex facilities.
FDC is taking proactive steps to ensure the public and individuals entrusted to our custody are secure as Florida prepares to respond to Hurricane Irma. FDC continues to monitor the changing track of the storm, and is actively preparing institutions and making evacuation determinations as the track evolves.
Florida institutions have been stocked with emergency food and water supplies in the event the facility is unable to receive normal deliveries following the storm.
Safety of FDC staff and inmates is paramount. The department is working around the clock to take necessary precautions for the storm. Evacuation determinations are made in the best interest of the inmates and public safety.
Three dozen facilities had been evacuated as of Saturday night, all in south and central Florida.
In the event of additional evacuations, announcements will only be made upon completion. Inmate locations will be posted on the website approximately 24-hours after relocation, per standard protocol.
Pictured: Inmates are evacuated from a Florida Department of Corrections facility on Saturday. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.