RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Florida Power & Light updated residents Friday afternoon on the company's storm preparations for Hurricane Dorian.
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Florida Power and Light says power outages are inevitable with the size and strength of Hurricane Dorian, but help is on the way from across the country.
“It seems like it's going to be a vicious one,” said Steve Daley, who is heeding the warnings and not taking any chances.
Daley spent Friday putting up hurricane shutters at his home in Riviera Beach. He says Dorian is daunting because his neighborhood easily loses power.
“This time around it’s going to be debris flying all over the place, and it’s going to be dangerous,” he said.
As the powerful storm inches closer to Florida’s Coast, Florida Power and Light is preparing for massive power outages.
“There will be parts of this where we will be able to restore, but there will be parts of the system we will have to rebuild, so some of these outages could be extensive,” said Eric Silagy, President and CEO of FPL.
On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis toured FPL’s command center in Riviera Beach, as Dorian poses a significant threat to South Florida.
“This is a storm that is increasingly gaining strength,” the governor said.
FPL says a restoration crew of 16,000 people from 34 states and Canada is now mobilizing, but additional crews could be sent to Florida.
“We’ve identified 24 staging sites across the state so that workers can begin restoring as soon as it is safe to do so,” said David Reuter, FPL's Chief Communications Officer.
Daley lost power for four days after Irma, and he is not looking forward to that possibly with Dorian.
“I’m hoping that the storm will turn and go away,” Daley said.
Once Dorian passes, FPL says they have to wait until the winds drop below 35mph, then its non-stop work until everyone is back online.
On Thursday, FPL activated its emergency response plan for Hurricane Dorian. That means:
- Nearly 16,000 FPL employees and additional personnel being pre-positioned at 24 staging sites across the state
- FPL is working with utilities nationwide to secure additional crews and equipment and pre-position these resources in advance of landfall
- FPL is proactively reaching out to customers before Dorian's projected landfall
The company is urging customers to make preparations and take safety precautions now, and follow the advice of local, state, and federal elected officials.
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For more information about preparing for Hurricane Dorian, click here.
