NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla.— Today, Senator Rick Scott received a briefing from local law enforcement and emergency management officials on Hurricane Idalia preparedness efforts in Pasco County. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts Hurricane Idalia to make landfall as a major hurricane of Category 3 strength or more as early as Wednesday morning and bring life-threatening storm surge to the Big Bend (10-15 ft.) and Tampa Bay (4-7 ft.) regions.

Joining Senator Scott at the briefing was Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco, Pasco County Board of County Commissioners Chair Jack Mariano, Pasco County Emergency Manager Andrew Fossa, and Pasco County Administrator Mike Carballa.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Hurricane Idalia is less than 24 hours from landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a MAJOR and DEADLY hurricane. The National Hurricane Center expects Idalia to impact our state at a minimum of Category 3 strength, meaning winds over 110mph and deadly storm surge of up to 15 feet in the Big Bend. Even outside the cone, deadly storm surge of 5-11 feet will impact communities along the Gulf Coast. Nobody can survive this massive storm surge – IT WILL KILL YOU. If told to evacuate, GET OUT IMMEDIATELY. Even a small shift in the track of this storm could bring unbelievably catastrophic impacts to Pasco County. As we saw with Ian, the storm track can change last minute and Michael showed us that these storms can intensify incredibly fast – from a tropical storm to a deadly Cat 5 in less than three days. Do not delay, make a plan to stay safe NOW. I have been receiving regular briefings from Dr. Mike Brennan, the Director of the National Hurricane Center, and my team and I will continue to be in contact with local, state and federal officials to make sure Florida is ready. Preparedness saves lives and Floridians must take Idalia seriously.”

Earlier today, Senator Scott announced his new bill, the Federal Disaster Responsibility Act, and demanded that the Senate immediately vote on it to make sure Florida families and all Americans facing emergencies are taken care of. Additional details below. Read more HERE.

Senator Scott’s Federal Disaster Responsibility Act will:

• Pass an enhanced version of the Disaster Relief Fund Replenishment Act and fully fund the immediate needs of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund with at least $12.5 billion to ensure the federal government can uphold its obligation to quickly deploy emergency funding and resources to communities and Americans impacted by natural disasters.
• Ensure final passage of the bipartisan Block Grant Assistance Act which provides needed authority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue block grants to Florida’s citrus growers and all U.S. agriculture producers devastated by natural disasters in 2022.
• Secure final passage of the Hurricane Tax Relief Act which takes care of Floridians and Puerto Ricans by providing disaster-loss tax relief to families in 51 Florida counties and Puerto Rico impacted by Hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Fiona by making those storms qualified disasters for purposes of enhanced disaster casualty loss tax relief. This bill modifies the deduction for personal casualty losses in the hurricane disaster areas, waiving the requirements for impacted taxpayers to itemize deductions and to have losses that exceed 10% of adjusted gross income. Congress previously extended this tax relief for hurricanes Irma, Wilma, Dorian, and Michael, among others.
• Commit necessary funds and resources to Florida’s military installations to fully rebuild and recover from hurricane damage.

Senator Scott encourages all Floridians to visit his website to find helpful hurricane preparedness resources and to make a disaster readiness plan today. See the latest on Hurricane Idalia from the National Hurricane Center at nhc.noaa.gov or @NHC_Atlantic on Twitter, and from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at floridadisaster.org or @FLSERT on Twitter. Additionally, this week, Floridians can take advantage of stocking up on tax-free hurricane preparedness items through Florida’s 2023 Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday running August 26^th through September 8^th. Learn more HERE.

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