Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis Updates on Hurricane Dorian Response

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Sept. 3 -- The Florida Department of Financial Services issued the following news release:

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, "Hurricane Dorian is tracking just off the eastern coast of Florida and threatening the state with possible heavy rain, wind, and flooding over the next few days. Our Urban Search and Rescue Teams are positioned around the state and ready to head into impacted areas as soon as the storm passes. I cannot thank these heroes enough for the tireless work they do to protect our communities. Please do not risk the lives of yourself or your loved ones and heed all evacuation orders NOW."

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:

* Brevard County - Mandatory

* Duval County - Mandatory

* Flagler County - Mandatory

* Hendry County - Evacuation Lifted

* Highlands County - Evacuation Lifted

* Indian River County - Evacuation Lifted

* Martin County - Mandatory

* Nassau County - Mandatory

* Okeechobee County - Voluntary/Phased

* Osceola County - Voluntary/Phased

* Palm Beach County - Mandatory

* Putnam County - Mandatory

* Seminole County - Voluntary

* St. Johns County - Mandatory

* St. Lucie County - Evacuation Lifted

* 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.

* Eight Federal USAR teams and six 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.

* One hazardous materials-specific team and two hazardous materials task forces 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.

* Approximately 1,900 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 Representative Paul Renner.

* 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 spoke with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Joseph Zahralban.

* CFO Patronis spoke with Coral Springs Fire Rescue Chief Frank Babinec.

* CFO Patronis spoke with Delray Beach Fire Rescue Chief Neal de Jesus.

* 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.

* CFO Patronis warned Floridians of disaster related scams and reports of individuals impersonating FEMA representatives ahead of Hurricane Dorian.

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 136,170 licensed adjusters and 94,388 additional insurance licensees who can legally adjust claims in Florida.

* As of today, there are also 588 emergency adjusters available to respond to Hurricane Dorian claims (for a total of 231,146 licensees who can legally adjust claims.)