AccuWeather speaks with Kevin Guthrie of the Florida Division of Emergency Management who shares how the Sunshine State is preparing for the looming tropical threat approaching them this weekend.
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00:00Well, Kevin, this could be one of the first hurricanes here for the season of which includes
00:05many counties that are under a state of emergency for the Tampa area. Where are you focusing your
00:10efforts across the state? What we're focusing on right now is a flood event and, you know,
00:16not necessarily a wind event. We do have a lot of rivers and tributaries that are already into
00:22some minor flood stages across the state of Florida. Just here in the north central Big Bend
00:28area we are about eight inches over our normal 30-day totals. So it's not going to take a lot
00:34of rain to cause a flash flooding situation and then an ongoing flooding situation. So those are
00:40the things that we're preparing for right now and making sure that cities and county have the
00:44necessary flood protection devices to go ahead and protect that critical infrastructure so that it
00:50doesn't succumb to, you know, further damage. So those are the things that we're focusing on
00:55right now and that that goes all the way from the Big Bend area down to below the Tampa Bay region.
01:01So that's that's where our primary focus is right now. We know these storms can quickly develop. So
01:08what unique challenges are there that come with these quickly developing storms for your state?
01:15One of the things that's very challenging about this particular storm is it has
01:18it has not developed yet and it's only about, you know, two days away from us. So
01:24we're anticipating that it's going to develop on most likely tomorrow, maybe overnight Saturday
01:29into Sunday. But again, the gulf we've seen this time and time again that rapid intensification
01:36happens. So we are preparing the men and women behind me in the State Emergency Operations Center
01:40are preparing as if it's going to be a cat one hurricane, a strong cat one hurricane. Not saying
01:45that's going to be the case. Right now all models are indicating that it's going to be a tropical
01:49storm at this point in time. But we are preparing and equipping individuals to be in the field.
01:55We got 3,000 National Guardsmen that have been called up for service. So we're going to prepare
02:00a visit as if it's going to be that stronger cat one hurricane or maybe even beyond. And again,
02:05we prepare for the worst. We hope for the best. What are the messages you want to get to not only
02:11your residents but also the visitors in the state? Right now the message is if you are in a low-lying
02:18area, it floods when it rains in your neighborhood, then we want you to be ready. Again, it's not
02:25going to take a lot of rain for some of these areas around the state of Florida to experience
02:30flash flooding and maybe even major flooding. So we want people to be ready if you're in that
02:35low-lying area. Make sure you have your kit ready to go. Make sure that you're ready to evacuate
02:40if a local emergency management director asks you to evacuate from that area. For the tourists
02:46that are in the state of Florida, just know that you're okay. You can stay in the hotel that you're
02:51in. You can stay at the most likely the Airbnb that you're in. Just stay put when the winds come,
02:57the rains come. Just do some indoor type activities. Within a day or two, we're going to be
03:02right back to sun and fun here in the great state of Florida. Kevin Guthrie, Executive Director of
03:07the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Thank you again for joining us this morning.
03:12Thank you for having me.