TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Tuesday, Oct. 6, declaring a state of emergency for 25 counties after Tropical Depression Nine formed in the Gulf on Tuesday afternoon.
The storm strengthened Wednesday morning and is now Tropical Storm Isaias.
Counties under state of emergency
Baker, Bay, Calhoun, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Walton, Wakulla, and Washington counties, which are along Florida’s Panhandle and Big Bend regions, are under the state of emergency declaration.
“Today, I signed an Executive Order issuing a state of emergency ahead of potential impacts from Tropical Depression 9. This order will allow the Florida Division of Emergency Management to stage critical preparedness resources and ensure Florida is ready to respond,” DeSantis said in a statement. “Floridians should take this time to get disaster plans in place and ensure their hurricane supply kit is stocked.”
The governor’s office noted that DeSantis and the Florida State Emergency Response Team are currently taking precautions to ensure Florida remains prepared for potential impacts of the tropical system.
Related: Tropical Storm Isaias forecast: Computer models and maps
The Florida State Emergency Response Team said in a statement that it is currently mobilizing resources to support storm preparation and response efforts. The resources will be strategically staged in Tallahassee and the Santa Rosa area to cover the area in the projected path of the storm as needed. Staged assets include:
Generators Fuel Flood BarriersBoxed Water PalletsShelf-Stable MealsFlood BucketsTarpsTiger Dams Sandbags
Interactive radar: South Florida weather coverage from WPBF 25 News
Tracking Isaias
Hurricane and storm surge watches have been issued for portions of the northern Gulf Coast as Tropical Storm Isaias continues to strengthen.
As of the 11 a.m. advisory, the storm was located about 260 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 540 miles south-southwest of the Mouth of the Mississippi River.
It was moving east-northeast at 8 mph with 45 mph maximum sustained winds.
The National Hurricane Center forecasts that the storm will make a northeastern turn.
Related: How do you say ‘Isaias’? If you’ve been wondering, here’s the correct way to pronounce it
Tropical-storm-force winds may be felt from Florida’s Big Bend region west along Alabama’s, Mississippi’s and Louisiana’s Gulf Coast regions as early as Thursday night or Friday morning.
Tropical Storm Isaias may become a Category 1 hurricane as early as Thursday night.
The governor’s office said that for more resources on how to prepare ahead of the storm, visit FloridaDisaster.org.
Tracking the Tropics
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