Broward County Government to suspend normal Operations Thursday and Friday (Sept. 7th & 8th)
BROWARD COUNTY – Broward County urges residents to finalize their plans and complete Hurricane Irma preparations today and tomorrow, before the arrival of tropical storm force winds which will make conditions treacherous.
At a news conference this morning, Mayor Barbara Sharief declared a local state of emergency in Broward, and announced the suspension of normal government operations on Thursday and Friday, September 7th and 8th. Broward District Schools are also closed on Thursday and Friday, to facilitate community sheltering operations.
Mayor Sharief called for residents in low lying areas or mobile homes to begin voluntary evacuations today. Mandatory evacuations from these areas will begin at NOON on Thursday, and expand to include those who live EAST of Federal Highway, including the barrier islands. All tolls have been suspended.
Broward County will open 14 shelters on Thursday, September 7th. Residents are reminded, if they come to a shelter, to bring with them anything that they need to stay comfortable, including bedding, snacks, water and important medications. The list of opened shelters will be posted on Broward County’s Hurricane website.
Port Everglades and Broward County’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport remain open at this time, but passengers are advised to check with their airline or cruise line for possible delays or cancellations.
Broward County Transit continues on a regular schedule until services are suspended due to tropical storm force winds. County bridges, including the drawbridges over the New River, are functioning on a normal schedule.
County road maintenance crews are preparing county storm drains to minimize any flooding impact on county roadways.
Broward County will begin staging heavy equipment today at various sites around the County to allow crews to begin road safety expectations and debris clearance immediately after the storm.
The Broward County Emergency Operations Center will be fully activated at 7AM Thursday. The Broward County Emergency Hotline is open 24/7. Call 311 or 954-831-4000 to get answers to all of your hurricane-related questions.
Broward County news conferences are carried live on Broward.org and will be broadcast live on Periscope and Twitter.
