09/25/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/25/2024 19:42
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On Monday, Senator Scott and Senator Marco Rubio sent a letterto President Joe Biden urging his immediate approval of the State of Florida's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for potentially impacted Florida counties. Following receipt of this letter, President Biden approved an emergency declaration for the State of Florida on Tuesday afternoon.<_o3a_p>
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Senator Rick Scottsaid, "I just visited the Taylor County Emergency Operations Center where I received a briefing from local and state elected officials and one thing is clear: Major Category 4 Hurricane Helene is a massive storm that we are expecting to bring lots of flooding-THIS IS DEADLY. The NHC is expecting up to 20 feet of storm surge in the Big Bend region. You cannot survive this. Take this storm seriously. I know families in Taylor County are storm weary. This area has been devastated by Idalia, Debby and now is preparing for Helene, and we need everyone to get out. All of Taylor County is under a mandatory evacuation order. If law enforcement is advising you to get out, listen to them. Every Floridian needs to do their part. I've been talking to NHC Director Dr. Michael Brennanand have remained in constant contact with local officials and law enforcement to make sure they have all the resources they need to prepare for and respond to this storm. Families all along our Gulf Coast have to take this seriously. Stock up on supplies and stay alert to weather threats to make sure that your families and businesses are prepared for a storm. Continue to monitor the news and local officials for any evacuation instructions, alerts or warnings. Florida is resilient because we prepare for storms. I cannot stress this enough: preparedness saves lives. We can always rebuild a home, but we can't rebuild a life."<_o3a_p>
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Senator Scott encourages all Floridians to visit his website at www.rickscott.senate.gov/hurricane-preparednessto get prepared today. See the latest on Hurricane Helene from the National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.govor @NHC_Atlantic on X, formerly known as Twitter, and from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at floridadisaster.orgor @FLSERT. <_o3a_p>
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