BRADENTON BEACH – City officials declared a local state of emergency beginning on Aug. 2 at 9 a.m. in advance of a tropical system expected to bring heavy rains this weekend.
“We have tropical mass 97-L that’s out there,” Police Chief John Cosby said at an Aug. 1 city commission meeting. “Just as a precaution, Manatee County is going to be declaring a state of emergency tomorrow at 9 o’clock. Ours will go into effect tomorrow at 9 o’clock to coincide with the county’s just in case we need it.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 54 Florida counties, including Manatee County.
Cosby said the state of emergency status can last up to seven days and, if a longer period is needed, it will need commission approval. Cosby also asked the commission to give him discretion to cancel it sooner if necessary.
“Public works will be checking all the storm drains tomorrow, high water signs will go out and any loose objects will be removed and precautionary measures of course as always,” Cosby, who is also interim public works director, said. “Everybody’s been put on notice, they’re on call and if we need to bring everybody in, we’ll bring everybody in.”
The declaration of a local state of emergency allows the city to suspend day-to-day activities and concentrate on storm preparation.
“It also gives the mayor and myself some leeway as far as finance procedures to get things done. It also changes how we pay our employees so the exempt employees can earn overtime during a disaster,” he said.
The local state of emergency declaration is also required in order to apply for state and FEMA funding, according to Cosby.
“In Manatee County we use an incident command system so decisions are all made pretty much as a group, and recommendations are given, everybody agrees on what we need to do. We talk about times if the evacuations should occur, when shelters will open,” Cosby said. “No one can do it by themselves. And under Chapter 252 of the state statutes, every county is required to have an emergency operation center and then everything else falls under that, so once they declare an emergency, they’re taking the lead.”
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says development is likely by this weekend with impacts felt along the Gulf Coast of Florida. According to NHC, “heavy rainfall could linger until early next week, and gusty winds and coastal flooding could also accompany this system, with the details of those impacts hinging on how well organized it becomes.”
