Florida governor requests Trump declare pre-landfall emergency for Panhandle and beyond

Governor Ron DeSantis has requested that President Donald Trump declare a pre-landfall emergency for the state of Florida in anticipation of Tropical Storm Laura.

Counties included in the request are Bay, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Glades, Gulf, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okaloosa, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington.

Historical: Schools, shelters in Escambia and Santa Rosa brace for possibility of 2 storms in Gulf

The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated at a Level 1 in response to the threat. 

Community based testing sites for COVID-19 in the threatened counties have been deactivated. 

Timing: Florida Panhandle still on edge of Tropical Storm Laura's possible path

With the uncertainty of Tropical Storm Laura's track, many counties are also considering evacuations, especially of low lying, vulnerable and special needs populations, DeSantis said in the request. Those orders have not yet been issues.

The State Emergency Response Team requested the following federal agencies send a representative to the State Emergency Operations Center:

• Health and Human Service
  • Mass care support
  • Shelter support/staffing
  • Meals, water and food resources
• US Army Corps of Engineers
  • Damage assessment support
  • Pump capacity
  • Power generation capacity
• US Coast Guard
  • Technical assistance
  • Search and rescue support
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Technical assistance
  • Resource and response support