Emergency.Blog

FAY: State and Federal Officials Begin Joint Damage Assessments in South FL

2:58 PM Aug 21, 2008

State and Federal Officials Begin Joint Damage Assessments in South FL

Tallahassee, FL- As Tropical Storm Fay continues to hover over Florida, the State Emergency Response Team is sending teams to several of the impacted counties to complete preliminary damage assessments.

Martin and Monroe were the first counties to be assessed for damages. Teams are in Brevard County today to assess impacts from the heavy rainfall and flooding that occurred over the last few days. Damage Assessment Teams from the state, along with local and federal officials will continue to assess and document damages from Tropical Storm Fay Wednesday and assessments will continue in all counties that receive impacts from Tropical Storm Fay.

"These numbers will assist us as we head into the recovery phase of our operations," said Craig Fugate, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. "We want to ensure that we get an accurate assessment of the damages that have occurred so our residents can receive the assistance they need to recover."

After crossing the Florida Keys, Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in Collier County near Cape Romano, Florida on early Tuesday morning. Fay continued across the state and has now stalled as it drenches areas with significant amounts of rainfall. Some locations in the path of Fay have reported up to 25 inches of rain in the past 24 hours.

The Florida National Guard has deployed liaisons to Putnam, Nassau, Duval, Saint Johns, and Flagler Counties. The Florida National Guard has Soldiers on alert and ready to deploy to assist counties if needed...

-- Source/continues: http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/27232989.html