00:00 Parts of the Florida Panhandle were hit with severe weather and tornadoes this morning.
00:03 Now the risk is into the Tampa Metro all the way up to areas closer to Jacksonville, a little south of Jacksonville.
00:11 So joining us with the latest on the situation in Florida is Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
00:17 Kevin, I know that it's a busy day for you, so we appreciate you making time for us.
00:22 We're glad to do it. Appreciate you having us on.
00:24 Well, absolutely. You have an important story to tell.
00:26 So what is the latest and regarding impacts, especially from earlier today, any word on injuries or casualties from Florida?
00:35 Yeah, I think what I would start with is exactly what you led with,
00:38 and that is we're facing tornado warnings across the state of Florida from Tampa all the way up to South Jacksonville, north of St.
00:45 John's County. So again, if you're if you are watching acuweather right now and you are in that area, you're under a tornado warning.
00:53 Please seek immediate shelter, go to a center portion of your home or your business and free from windows.
01:00 Get as low as you can. If you have the ability to put blankets in or pillows over the top of you, please do that.
01:07 We have seen going to the panhandle. We have seen a number of tornadoes today.
01:13 We've probably are upwards of about twenty five, maybe even closer to 30 tornado warnings.
01:19 And I think, again, viewers need to understand that a tornado warning means that radar indication rotation has happened.
01:28 And I don't think people really understand that.
01:31 They they don't understand the difference between a tornado warning and a hurricane warning like we do in Florida.
01:36 Hurricane warning means that conditions are favorable in the next 24 to 36 hours that you're going to have that hit.
01:43 A tornado warning means we have got radar indication of rotation and it is time to seek shelter right now.
01:49 So we've had a number of warnings across the state earlier today.
01:53 We did have four tornadoes, it appears, that have touched down three in Bay County.
02:00 That's the Panama City, Linn Haven, Callaway area.
02:03 And then one over in Marianna, Jackson County in the again, in the panhandle.
02:09 So we've got quite a bit of stuff going on. Injuries.
02:13 We did have five trauma alerts in Bay County and one of those with head injuries.
02:18 The rest of those have been the rest of the injuries have been minor scrapes and scratches and things of that nature.
02:24 So we're looking really good right now, even though we do have a number of tornado warnings throughout the peninsula.
02:31 But, you know, we're going to continue to be here. The state emergency operations centers,
02:34 you see behind me with the full staff ready to meet the needs of the citizens of Florida and assist local emergency management agencies,
02:41 local fire rescue and local law enforcement. And as they respond to this disaster,
02:45 we do have about eighty five thousand people without power right now. We're working quickly to restore that power.
02:51 That was going to be my my next question for you there, Kevin.
02:54 So we appreciate that information there on your power outage numbers and we'll continue to watch as that number evolves with,
03:00 obviously, the wake of the storms in the Florida panhandle, but the ongoing severe threat,
03:04 as you mentioned, for areas near the port of Tampa right now,
03:07 tornado warning in effect and also areas to the east up into areas around the Gold Coast.
03:11 So thank you so much, Kevin Guthrie, Kevin Guthrie, Florida Emergency Management Coordinator and Director.
03:19 Thanks again, Kevin. Thank you.
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