TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FNN NEWS) By Governor Rick Scott – Governor Rick Scott Issues Updates on Hurricane Matthew Response and Recovery Efforts:

POWER

• The following counties are currently experiencing power outages for more than 1,000 customers:

• Brevard County – 5,460 customers, 2% outage
• Duval County – 91,980 customers, 20% outage
• Flagler County – 16,256 customers, 27% outage
• Indian River County – 1,670 customers, 2% outage
• Putnam County – 1,581 customers, 4% outage
• Seminole County – 2,072 customers, 1% outage
• Johns County – 3,280 customers, 3% outage
• Lucie County – 1,190 customers, 1% outage
• Volusia County – 44,268 customers, 15% outage

• Total without power: 169,252 customers, 2% outage

WIFI HOT SPOTS

• To alleviate some of the burden from storm-related damages and help residents and emergency personnel stay connected in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, Comcast is opening up thousands of XFINITY WiFi hotspots in areas impacted by the storm in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
• Hotspots are currently open in the following Florida Counties:
• Duval County
• Indian River County
• Martin County
• Nassau County
• Lucie County
• John’s County
• These WiFi hotspots are open to anyone who needs them – including non-Comcast subscribers. For a map of XFINITY WiFi hotspots, users should visit xfinity.com/wifi.

DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS

• Individual county initial damage assessments are ongoing.

• The federal government approved portions of Governor Rick Scott’s request for a major disaster declaration for Florida due to severe damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. The approved declaration covers debris removal and emergency protective measures in eight counties including Duval, Flagler, Brevard, Nassau, Volusia, Indian River, St. Johns and St. Lucie. At this time, funding has not been approved for individual assistance or for permanent work to government buildings, roads and parks.
  • To see the approval letter, click HERE.

SHELTERS

• There are currently seven shelters open throughout Florida with a total population of more than 120 individuals. This includes four special needs shelters who are serving 36 clients at this time. This number will be updated throughout the day.
• As evacuation orders are lifted and people return to their homes, the number of available shelters is updating regularly. To find out which shelters remain open in your county, please visithttp://www.floridadisaster.org/shelters/

EVACUATIONS

• All evacuation orders have been lifted.

FUEL

• The state is monitoring for supply, distribution or retail fuel shortages or issues, specifically for isolated incidents of individual retailers experiencing temporary fuel shortages. These individual retailers are being quickly refueled and fuel is readily available across Florida.
• The state will continue to monitor and assist with state and local government fuel assistance requests.
• The current fuel supply in the state will last for nearly 5 days.
• All ports have reopened. All ports are resuming normal fuel delivery schedules.
• The state is working with fuel partners and suppliers to increase the number trucks moving fuel from the ports to retail locations.

MILITARY SUPPORT

• The Florida National Guard has completed most of its assigned missions and deactivated the majority of its responding units. Most soldiers are returning to home base and being relieved from active duty status.

LAW ENFORCEMENT, FIRE FIGHTING AND SEARCH & RESCUE

• The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and other partnering agencies have identified resources for deployment to assist with recovery efforts.
• FHP has over 250 Quick Action Force members deployed for public safety patrol across affected areas. FHP is also continuing to use aircraft to monitor road conditions when weather permits.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

• The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) activated its emergency contact system for the east coast Florida school districts and colleges, and is monitoring closures made at the district and college levels.
• The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in Jacksonville will be closed for the remainder of the week.
• Currently, the following counties have confirmed that schools will be closed on Tuesday, October 11^th. This information will be updated throughout the day as school districts make determinations regarding class resumption.
  • Flagler
  • Volusia

PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL

• DOH is monitoring and supporting special needs shelters.
• The state is deploying State Medical Response Teams (SMRT) to hospitals in Volusia and Brevard Counties.
  • Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams are responding with SMRT.
• The following hospitals are closed/evacuated patients:
  • Health First Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach
  • Florida Hospital Oceanside, Ormond Beach
  • Riverpoint Behavior Health Hospital, Jacksonville

• DOH will be updating hospital evacuation information at FLHealth.gov

• AHCA will continue to communicate with healthcare facilities for updates and support. After hours contact information has been provided to over 8,000 nursing home and assisted living providers, and hospitals in the affected areas. Post impact reporting instructions have been shared including providing power status, generator status, and re-entry post evacuation.

TOLLS

• Tolls have been reinstated on all toll roads in Florida.

AIRPORTS

• All airports are open. Please contact the airport directly for hours of operation and flight schedules.

TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC WORKS

• All interstates in Florida are currently open.
• FDOT has completed damage assessments of roadways and inspections of bridges in Southeast Florida. There was very little road damage and evacuees began to return to the area on Friday afternoon.

• Information on road and bridge closures can be found at http://www.fl511.com.

• FDOT crews and contractors are assessing State Roads in Central Florida, Northeast Florida, and along the east coast. FDOT is also cutting and clearing trees and removing road obstructions.

• Contractors are inspecting construction sites and will resume construction when safe and per schedules.
• SunRail has returned to normal operations.
• Florida Highway Patrol traffic incidents by region can be found here.

HUMAN SERVICES

• Resources and Supplies
  • The Florida Baptist Disaster Relief Ministries
    • There are currently four operational field kitchens in Palm Coast, Fleming Island, St. Augustine and North Jacksonville.
  • The Salvation Army (TSA)
    • TSA is providing services in seven counties and has served more than 21,300 meals to affected individuals.
    • Operating 31 mobile canteens to serve impacted families and continue to serve the following areas:
      • Brevard (5)
      • Volusia (11)
      • Indian River (2)
      • St. Johns (4)
      • Clay (3)
      • Duval (6)
  • The American Red Cross (ARC)
    • To date, ARC has provided more than 27,000 meals to affected individuals.
    • ARC has 24 Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) working in the impacted area to provide food and bulk distribution.
  • The state is working to identify short term and long term mass care needs.
• To help customers displaced and impacted by hurricane Matthew, AT&T and Verizon are waiving data overage charges for customers in affected areas.
• Food Safety Assessment teams have been mobilized to monitor power outages and flooding to ensure safety at food establishments once weather conditions improve.
• The Division of Real Estate Development and Management continues to provide office space for FEMA in Tallahassee and space in Orlando to assist in response efforts.
• The Division of Real Estate Development and Management EOC has transferred to Orlando to coordinate the logistics staging area for equipment in response to the storm.
• To report price gouging call the Florida Attorney General’s Office at 866- 9NO-SCAM or visithttp://www.myfloridalegal.com/Contact.nsf/PriceGouging!OpenForm

Volunteer Organizations

• Volunteer Florida has established a volunteer registration link for those who are interested in volunteering following Hurricane Matthew. Please visit www.volunteerflorida.org/hurricane-matthew to register. So far, more than 1,800 volunteers have registered.
• Volunteer Florida has had nearly 400 individuals apply to its Crisis Cleanup registration line.
• Governor Scott has activated the Florida Disaster Fund. The Florida Disaster Fund helps to provide financial support to Florida’s communities in times of disaster. To make a contribution, please visit www.FloridaDisasterFund.org.
• Individuals can also volunteer through the Red Cross by visiting RedCross.org
• The state is working with Volunteer Florida and other volunteers and donation agencies to identify available volunteers through Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and AmeriCorps to staff shelters, provide immediate recovery needs, and begin to identify clean up needs.

Blood Donations

• OneBlook has resumed normal operations and is urging donors to donate as soon as possible to replenish the blood supply. All locations have returned to normal business hours.
• For a list of OneBlood Donor Centers and Big Red Bus blood drive locations visitwww.oneblood.org.

Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD)

• All regions have called staff, providers, waiver support coordinators, and stakeholders to ensure health and safety of customers. To date there are no reported issues.
• Group Home Provider Evacuations Include:
  • Central Region: Pediatric Pavilion (Orlando)
  • Northeast Region: Hibiscus Group Home (Jacksonville)
  • Residents are expected to return when power is restored

Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA)

• The Department of Elder Affairs continues to coordinate with Area Agencies on Aging across the state to ensure that services are meeting the needs of elders and adults with disabilities across the state without disruption.
• Meals continue to be served to homebound clients, and extra frozen and shelf-stable meals have also been provided.

Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA)

• The Emory L. Bennett State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Volusia County continues to run on generator power. The generators have enough diesel fuel to power the entire home for multiple days without refueling, and all residents and staff are secure.

BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, & ECONOMIC STABILIZATION

• Governor Rick Scott today activated Florida’s Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to support small businesses impacted by Hurricane Matthew. The bridge loan program, managed by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), will provide short-term, interest-free loans to small businesses that experienced physical or economic damage during the storm and recovery efforts. The application period is from today through November 11, 2016.
  • Businesses with two to 100 employees who seek to complete an application by the Nov. 11 deadline, or desire more information on the program, should visit floridadisasterloan.org. For questions regarding the Emergency Bridge Loan Program, contact the Florida Small Business Development Center Network state office at 850-898-3489.
  • The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) is currently surveying businesses in the affected counties through the Florida Virtual Business Emergency Operations Center (FLVBEOC). The FLVBEOC is available at flvbeoc.org

• There is Office and Warehouse space offerings for displaced or damaged businesses. For availability, click HERE.
• The state has activated the Private Sector Hotline at 850-410-1403. The hotline is available for business inquiries about the storm, preparedness information and post-impact information from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET.
• The majority of major retailers in impacted areas are open.

INSURANCE

• In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, Floridians affected by the storm must now begin the process of surveying damages to their property and belongings. If you need help finding your Florida’s property insurance company’s website and contact information, click HERE. For a list of licensed insurance agents in Florida, click HERE.
• It is important to document all damaged property and belongings. A free smartphone app developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners called “MyHome Scr.APP.book” is available to assist with photo documentation.
• If you suspect fraud or suspicious activity or if you have questions about insurance coverage, you can call the Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services’ Insurance Helpline at 1-877-693-5236. You can find other hurricane season resources from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation HERE.
• OIR will continue to communicate with DFS regarding the establishment of an insurance village, a mobile location for individuals to file insurance claims, if needed following the hurricane. OIR and DFS will also closely track insurance complaints to help protect Floridians.

HOTELS/ LODGING ACCOMMODATIONS

• VISIT FLORIDA will keep the Emergency Accommodations Module activated to provide available hotel accommodations to visitors. To view available accommodations, click HERE.
• VISIT FLORIDA and Expedia have partnered to identify cities and hotels which are further away from the projected storm path and have availability. Please visit www.expedia.com/florida to find available lodging.
• Airbnb expanded activation of the Disaster Response Tool beyond coastal South Carolina to include portions of Florida. Please visit www.airbnb.com/disaster/florida to find available lodging.
  • Airbnb is asking hosts to aid in this effort by listing their available rooms or homes on the platform to help house the growing number of evacuees.
  • Local residents impacted by Hurricane Matthew will be able to secure emergency accommodations through the tool free of charge from now through October 12^th.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

• The Division of Telecommunications continues to work to resolve communication infrastructure needs and expedite restoration of services throughout the state to ensure first responders, residents and visitors are able to communicate response and recovery needs.
• The division is coordinating communications status reports of outages, affects or unmet needs with the telecommunications industry and assisting with access to communications facilities in impacted areas.
• The Division of State Purchasing has leased facilities for logistical staging areas in Central Florida to assist emergency response needs throughout the state.

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS (USACE)

• Initial post storm inspections have been completed. No issues or concerns were identified with the Herbert Hoover Dike. Weekly inspections of the dike will occur in accordance with the HHD Emergency Action Plan. The lake elevation has reduced from yesterday and is currently 16.04 feet. Daily inspections of the southern portion of the lake will begin if the lake elevation exceeds 17 feet.
• Discharges to the east and the west of the lake are ongoing to mitigate flood risks.
• USACE is participating in water debris removal discussions with the state.
• USACE Jacksonville District is conducting surveys of the damage to federally funded USACE projects and is prepared to assist with additional missions in support of affected areas if requested.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

• DEP beach erosion assessment teams have completed beach inspections across the east coast.
• State park assessment teams have been deployed to remove debris and reopen state parks. Seven state parks and campgrounds remain closed. To view the full list, click HERE.
• Household Hazardous Waste debris and drop off sites have been established in all 67 counties.
• DEP is mobilizing responders to Jacksonville and Orlando areas for Hazardous Waste Assessment teams with EPA.