CFO Jimmy Patronis Updates on Hurricane Dorian Response

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.— Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis is updating Floridians on Hurricane Dorian preparation and response efforts. Floridians are urged to call CFO Patronis' Insurance Helpline at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO for disaster preparedness insurance and financial assistance and to report post-storm fraud and scams.
 
CFO Jimmy Patronis said, “Please keep the Bahamas in your prayers as Hurricane Dorian continues to barrel down on them. Florida needs to prepare to brace for this Category 4 storm and be ready for what it may bring our state. I've now activated 22 of our Urban Search and Rescue Teams and they are ready to head in to impacted areas as soon as the storm passes.”
 
HURRICANE DORIAN ADVISORIES & EXTENSIONS
 
• August 28, 2019, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 19-189, declaring a state of emergency in 26 counties.
• August 29, 2019, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 19-190, expanding the state of emergency to include all 67 counties in Florida. This provides state and local governments ample time, resources and flexibility to prepare as the exact landfall location of Hurricane Dorian continues to fluctuate.
• The following counties have issued evacuations:
o Brevard County - Mandatory
o Clay County - Mandatory
o Duval County - Mandatory   
o Flagler County - Mandatory
o Glades County - Voluntary/Phased
o Hendry County - Voluntary/Phased
o Highlands County - Voluntary/Phased
o Indian River County - Voluntary/Phased
o Martin County - Mandatory
o Nassau County - Voluntary/Phased
o Okeechobee County - Voluntary/Phased
o Osceola County - Voluntary/Phased
o Palm Beach County - Mandatory
o Putnam County - Mandatory
o Seminole County - Voluntary
o St. Johns County - Mandatory
o St. Lucie County - Mandatory
o Volusia County - Mandatory

 

URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAMS
 
• CFO Patronis’ Division of State Fire Marshal oversees activation of Florida’s Urban Search (USAR) and Rescue Teams.
• Sixteen Federal USAR teams and 5 State USAR teams have been activated to respond to specific regions affected by Hurricane Dorian.
• Thirteen Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) USAR have been activated to assist impacts affecting Florida.
• Two hazardous materials-specific teams have also been activated and ready to respond.
• The Incident Management Team is currently mobilized and staged at the Orange County Convention Center.
• Three Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) to assist in first responders’ communications.
• In total, over 2350, USAR responders have been activated to either stage, deploy, or respond to Hurricane Dorian.

 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
 
• CFO Patronis spoke with T-Mobile to discuss Hurricane Dorian response and recovery preparations.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Verizon to discuss Hurricane Dorian response and recovery preparations.
• CFO Patronis spoke with AT&T to discuss Hurricane Dorian response and recovery preparations.

 

OFFICIALS AND BUSINESSES
 
• CFO Patronis called Florida Power and Light (FPL) to discuss Hurricane Dorian response and recovery preparations.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Florida State Board of Administration Executive Director Ash Williams.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation President, CEO and Executive Director Barry Gilway.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier.
• CFO Jimmy Patronis hosted a call with Florida insurance companies regarding Hurricane Dorian response.
• CFO Patronis spoke with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.
• CFO Patronis spoke with U.S. Senator Rick Scott.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Senator Lauren Book.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Senator Travis Hutson.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Senator Debbie Mayfield.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Senator Bobby Powell.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Senator David Simmons.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Elizabeth Fetterhoff.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Randy Fine.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Shevrin Jones.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Chip LaMarca.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Mike LaRosa.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Bobby Payne.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Richard Stark.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Representative Cyndi Stevenson.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Glades County Sheriff David Hardin.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Hendry County Sheriff Steve Whidden.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Okeechobee County Sheriff Noel Stephen.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Osceola County Sheriff Russell Gibson.
• CFO Patronis spoke with St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar.
• CFO Patronis spoke with St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara.
• CFO Patronis spoke with Louisiana State Fire Marshal Butch Browning to thank him for sending assets to Florida to assist with recovery.
• CFO Patronis received a briefing on Florida Highway Patrol efforts to stage and prepare for Hurricane Dorian from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Director Terry Rhodes.
• CFO Patronis joined a Hurricane Dorian response briefing with Volunteer Florida.

 

INSURANCE VILLAGES & ANTI-FRAUD STRIKE TEAMS
 
• CFO Patronis activated his Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team (DFAST) to stand ready to deploy to affected counties following landfall to combat post-storm fraud and scams.
• CFO Patronis’ Division of Consumer Services is preparing to deploy and Insurance Consumer Assistance Village near storm impacted areas to assist consumers with filing post-storm insurance claims.
• CFO Patronis conducted a briefing with DFAST personnel to discuss efforts to educate the public about the potential for fraud following Hurricane Dorian’s impact.

 

INSURANCE CONSUMER ASSISTANCE
 
• CFO Jimmy Patronis' Insurance Helpline 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236) stands ready to assist consumers with insurance questions Monday – Friday, 8 am - 5 pm (EDT).

 

EMERGENCY/LICENSED ADJUSTERS
 
• CFO Jimmy Patronis has activated the Emergency Adjuster Application to license additional insurance adjusters ahead of Hurricane Dorian.
• Florida currently has 136,176 licensed adjusters and 94,401 additional insurance licensees who can legally adjust claims in Florida.
• As of today, there are also 517 emergency adjusters available to respond to Hurricane Dorian claims (for a total of 231,094 licensees who can legally adjust claims.)