District prepares for Hurricane Frances
Bartow Service Office to close
The Southwest Florida Water Management District is preparing for the possible landfall of Hurricane Frances in Florida. The Districts Bartow Service Office will be closed on Friday, September 3, 2004, and the Peace River Basin Board meeting, scheduled for Friday, has been cancelled. The meeting has tentatively been rescheduled for Friday, September 10, 2004, at the Districts Bartow Service Office. All other District offices will be open on Friday. Current information is available on the Districts Web site at www.Watermatters.org.
The District plans to fully activate its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Brooksville at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. TheEOC is activated and staffed up to 24 hours a day during emergency conditions to monitor water levels, operate water structures, direct external crews, and provide up-to-the minute information to state and local government emergency groups, the media and the general public. The District’s automated monitoring system feeds continuous data regarding water levels and rainfall. TheEOC is manned by operations staff, along with engineers, hydrologists and communications personnel.
Direct phone lines to theEOC are 352-796-7211, or in Florida only, 800-423-1476, extension 4546. TheEOC will be online with the State LiveEOCTracker Database. The Tracker system provides an alternative communications device that allows county emergency management officials to track requests, update reports, and keep informed of new developments and vital statistics during emergency events.