Government aid flows into Surfside as a rescue, and recovery efforts continue

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – The Florida Division of Emergency Management moves from one disaster to the next. The staff have been juggling COVID-19 for months but are now dealing with the Surfside disaster.

It so happened that the Tallahassee Emergency Operations Center was already handing its coronavirus efforts over to the Florida Department of Health and local officials. Authorities said this would free DEM to focus more on what’s happening further south.

“The entire team that works in Tallahassee will be activated,” said DEM director Kevin Guthrie. “The men and women there are ready to provide support if necessary.”

DEM officials said Friday the state’s top priority will be to provide local search and rescue teams with anything they need.

“We’re working with Miami-Dade County here to make sure this happens,” Guthrie said.

A lot of government aid is pouring in:

• Four city search and rescue teams have been tapped to help and four more are standing by and waiting
• The mental health coordinator pools local efforts
• The Department of Economic Opportunity is available to all affected companies
• State officials are coordinating with Florida State University to introduce drones. Crews could use them to map debris in 3D

EW scripps

Florida DEM Director Kevin Guthrie explains the state’s response to the collapse of the Surfside condo.

The governor of Florida also thanked the president for sending FEMA after the emergency declaration on Thursday evening. Federal officials came to help with rubble removal and temporary housing.

“You are all in, so we really appreciate the president’s support,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “The people of Florida really appreciate that the President and his government are committed to helping people in need.”

DeSantis said he spoke to President Joe Biden earlier that day. The White House said Biden thanked the first responders for the efforts and offered condolences to the governor and the people of the Surfside community.

“The president said his administration is ready to provide additional resources and support that state and local officials need,” a White House statement said.

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