'Prepare, Wait And See': Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez On Hurricane Dorian
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – "Prepare, wait and see." That is the message from Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez on Saturday morning as Hurricane Dorian bears down on the northwestern Bahamas as a fierce Category 4 storm but appears to potentially spare Florida a direct hit.
"Just because parts of Miami-Dade are out the cone doesn't mean we aren't going to have hazardous weather," said Mayor Gimenez in a morning news conference. "Don't take down your shutters, not just yet." That is because Florida is still threatened by power winds and storm surge.
"The emergency declaration remains, we must keep our guard up," he said.
Forecasters on Saturday said the ever-strengthening Dorian is expected to dance up the Southeast coastline, staying just off shore of Florida and skirting the coast of Georgia, with the possibility of landfall still a threat on Wednesday, and then continuing up to South Carolina early Thursday.
With that news, the Mayor says all Miami-Dade services continue as normal.
In addition, the county has suspended the evacuation of special needs residents but those evacuations will resume on Sunday morning, if needed.
"In light of what's happened with this new track, we will be postponing that. We have sufficient time to pick them up and take them to shelters," said the Mayor.
Still, after days of a forecast that put the Sunshine State and President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in the center of expected landfalls, the changes are significant.
President Trump spoke to Mayor Gimenez and pledged his full support of the federal government to the County. "He is willing to help the state of Florida and Miami-Dade County," said Gimenez.
The other main issue that will affect Miami-Dade is King Tide flooding which continue through Tuesday. The King Tides are expected to bring in an additional foot or more of water to parts of the county already saturated by relentless summer rainfall. The Mayor said County workers are taking debris away from storm drains and focusing on mitigating the risk of flooding.
The Cities of Miami Beach and Miami are also doing the same.
The County has NOT issued an evacuation order and the Mayor said, "The County remains ready to assist others who may need it." He added, "If projections change, our actions will change," said the Mayor.
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