TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – State officials continue to support efforts in Orlando with the Division of Emergency Management, a department that normally takes the spotlight during natural disasters. The governor is also hoping for more federal aid as well.
A FEMA declaration has not been granted following other high-profile mass shootings in the country.
Last week, a tropical storm hit Florida and the state’s Emergency Operations Center sprung into action, monitoring heavy rains, power outages and floods.
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It’s active again. Not because of a storm, but because of a shooter with a gun. The EOC remains at a level one activation in the wake of the Orlando mass shooting. Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam toured it Monday.
The EOC helps better centralize support efforts in the wake of the Orlando tragedy. But Gov. Rick Scott is also looking for federal support. He’s asked the president for a federal emergency declaration, which could come with up to $5 million in additional funding.
“If there were to be a declaration of emergency at the federal level, it would allow the state to recoup some of its costs, again, as the result of the scale of this crime, this terrorist act -- let me be clear, this terrorist act," Putnam said.
And in the wake of this emergency, one state agency will now have to do an economic impact survey.
The state activated the Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center, something usually reserved for bad weather events. The Department of Economic Opportunity will look at how businesses surrounding the Pulse nightclub were affected by the emergency response. Yasmine Colone works right down the street.
"You can just feel a difference in the atmosphere," Colone said. "Knowing how close we work to the location, it’s a little devastating. I actually thought they were going to close our office."
It’s the first time the DEO will do the business survey for a non-weather or environmental-related event.