Search results for

It’s been three and a half months since Hurricane Ian made landfall near Sanibel Island and swept across the state causing an estimated $50 to 65 billion dollars in insured damages and killing more than 100 people just here in Florida. While many people moved quickly to seek assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after the storm hit, for anyone who has still not filed a claim, the deadline is tomorrow…Thursday, January 12th. Homeowners and renters have until 11:59 tomorrow night to file a claim for property loss, or damage to property, from Hurricane Ian.

State health officials reported 5,556 new COVID-19 infections and 70 deaths on Wednesday. So far more than 6.6 million people in Florida have been vaccinated including more than 2.7 million people who have received a first dose and more than 3.9 million people who have completed the series or received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.Lee County’s COVID-19 vaccination site is moving next week to the old Sears location at the Edison Mall. Starting Friday, eligible Sarasota County residents will be able to receive the vaccine without an appointment at the county’s vaccine clinic site at Sarasota Square Mall.Governors of other states across the political spectrum have publicly received a vaccine in an effort to combat vaccine hesitancy and assure people that the shots are safe, but Governor Ron DeSantis’ office confirms that DeSantis received the vaccine last week in private.Florida is beginning to provide COVID-19 vaccine doses to prison inmates.The Norwegian Cruise line intends to begin resuming some sailings by July 4. All passengers and crew members will be required to get vaccinated in order to board a ship.

After several locations in Florida, including Key West, Fort Myers, Miami, Tampa and Sarasota recorded their warmest month on record in July, the Southeast Regional Climate Center is predicting that more records may be broken again this month.

There are a number of fireworks exhibits from Sarasota to Naples and east to Hendry County for the Fourth holiday and beyond.

The concrete pour for the Little Pine Island Bridge is now tentatively scheduled for Friday, March 28, at 2 a.m. When work resumes, crews will pour more then 300 yards of concrete for the deck slab, requiring approximately five hours to complete.

Hurricane Milton continues its approach and will be making landfall this evening or early Thursday morning as a major hurricane with extreme storm surge levels and damaging winds. Projections show Milton’s landfall somewhere between Sarasota and Tampa Bay. The latest projections show storm surge levels between 8-12 feet from Bonita Beach to Boca Grande — and 10-15 feet from Boca Grande to Anna Maria Island, which is on the southern end of Tampa Bay. That means more than 150 miles of coastline experiencing storm surge that could top 8 feet and be as high as 15 feet. We get an update from Tim Miller at the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network. We also check in with the Salvation Army of Collier County to learn about the preparations they're making for after Milton passes through. And we get some tips on staying calm and maintaining peace of mind during these tense times.

This is an ongoing entry for hurricane-related information. It will be updated as needed during the 2025 hurricane season.

The state of Florida and FEMA have activated the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program for Hurricane Ian survivors in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties.

As Tropical Storm Elsa continues moving toward Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order, Saturday, declaring a state of emergency for 15 Florida counties including Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota Counties.Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the lower keys Monday night and are projected to begin impacting Southwest Florida in Collier County early Tuesday morning.