TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott said Wednesday that Florida state agencies and electric utilities are taking steps to provide help after Hurricane Florence hits land later this week.
Scott's office said Florida has sent two urban search-and-rescue teams to North Carolina and South Carolina; a nursing team of 29 people to North Carolina to help with special-needs shelters; five ambulance teams to North Carolina to help with medical evacuations; and three teams of emergency management specialist to North Carolina to help with operations and planning in response to the storm.
The assistance also includes Florida utilities sending crews to help restore power after the hurricane and the state suspending requirements for transportation of animals to help in the movement of livestock from areas affected by the hurricane.
Visit Florida, in partnership with Expedia, has activated its Emergency Accommodation Module as a resource to assist evacuees seeking accommodations in Florida. Expedia.com/Florida provides accommodations availability information.
Florence is expected to approach the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina late Thursday and Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“We will continue to do all we can to support our neighbors in the Southeast as we prepare for Hurricane Florence,” Scott said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “In Florida, we are fortunate to have the best emergency management professionals in the world to respond to disasters in our state and to help other states during times of emergency.”