Flood watches have been posted for southwest Florida, southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia. If the average rainfall does not exceed four inches, no river flooding problems are anticipated. The Florida Emergency Operations Center is open on a 24-hour basis with minimal overnight staffing. Governor Bush has signed an executive order for a State of Emergency. There are no mandatory evacuations in effect.
Voluntary evacuations are in place for low-lying areas, sub code housing and mobile homes.
Many of the counties in the affected area have closed public schools and county offices, also several colleges and universities in the affected area have cancelled classes. Several counties have signed local states of emergency and several shelters were on standby. The American Red Cross reports seven shelters are open in the Florida Panhandle with an overnight population of 75 people. Another 17 shelters are on standby. The FEMA Thomasville operations cell is activated and is monitoring the situation.