hurricane preparation

As Tropical Storm Elsa skirts Southwest Florida the risk of flooding, tornadoes, and downed trees have not passed. WGCU's Julie Glenn talked with Florida Public Radio Emergency Network meteorologist, Megan Borowski, about why our area needs to remain vigilant through tomorrow. Here's that conversation:

After an early morning briefing from emergency officials, Governor DeSantis talks storm preparation, storm surge, and generator safety.

It's hard not to stare into the eye of any storm, but the more mundane storm effects can pack a punch, so pay attention.

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.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis made a stop in Fort Myers, Friday, urging people to get prepared for hurricane season and to highlight first responders with the state’s Urban Search and Rescue Teams.

Cuando el huracán Laura azotó Luisiana en 2020, la principal causa de muerte por esa tormenta fueron los accidentes con generadores.

As we move through the hurricane season, it is important to remember how to safely operate a generator. Recently, more people have died from generator accidents in hurricanes than from anything else.

State health officials report that Florida has seen more than 2.3 million COVID-19 infections and more than 37,500 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. As of last Friday morning, the state division of Emergency Management reports that more than 10 million people in Florida have been vaccinated against the virus, including more than two million people who have received a first dose and more than 8.1 million people who have either completed a two-dose series or who have received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.The Florida Department of Health data scientist who built the state’s online COVID-19 dashboard is receiving whistleblower status. Rebekah Jones was fired last year after raising questions about the accuracy of pandemic data being reported by the state.Gov. DeSantis says Florida will penalize cruise companies that require proof of vaccination of travelers on board under a new state law, but the federal government says cruise ships need to follow vaccination requirements in order to restart cruising. Under the new state law set to take effect July 1, Cruise companies would be fined $5,000 for each customer who must show proof of vaccination against COVID-19.A new study from the policy think tank, the RAND Corporation, finds students who attended school remotely during the pandemic had worse outcomes in math and language arts than students who attended a hybrid model and those who went to class in-person.

Members of the Manatee County Emergency Management Department held a virtual hurricane preparedness seminar on Thursday.

Hurricane season officially began June 1, and the Lee County Emergency Management Department hosted an event on Monday to share resources and preparation…