Staff Reports
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson Tuesday called on President Trump to approve Gov. Rick Scott’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for Florida in advance of Hurricane Irma.
“A pre-landfall declaration will provide important resources and assistance from the federal government and would free up funding sources for emergency protective measures such as shoring up beach dunes, building emergency berms and planning for potential evacuations,” a press release from Scott’s office explained earlier Tuesday.
The full text of the senators’ letter is below:
Dear Mr. President,
We write in full support of Florida Governor Rick Scott’s request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for the state of Florida in anticipation of Hurricane Irma. As the current projections indicate, this major hurricane will heavily impact Florida communities, and we urge you to immediately approve this request to ensure that full federal resources are made available.
Hurricane Irma has been classified as a category five hurricane, and is projected to cause incredible devastation to Florida and portions of the Caribbean.
While the storm is not predicted to make landfall until later this week, the state and federal government must work together in order to help reduce the potential loss of life and destruction of property. As we recently witnessed with Hurricane Harvey, preparation and up-front resources are paramount.
We strongly urge you to consider all of the circumstances referenced in Governor Scott’s request and approve this pre-landfall emergency declaration that will provide the resources necessary to ensure the safety of Floridians.
