Officials issued a voluntary evacuation order Monday in at least one Florida county as warnings were increased along the state's Gulf Coast for Tropical Storm Elsa.
Threat of Tropical Storm Elsa
For now, rescuers continued their search for survivors at the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium in Surfside following the demolition of part of the tower that remained standing late Sunday.
Experts set off explosives so that the remaining standing tower will be pulled down Sunday night before it could cause any possiblel impacts from Tropical Storm Elsa. The threat of Elsa contributed to the urgency in the demolition plans over the holiday weekend. On Monday, there could be powerful winds in the area.
Residents of Florida are been advised to observe the storm. Officials issued Tropical storm warnings from the Florida Keys along the Gulf Coast to the Ochlockonee River, the Tampa Bay area was also included. Watches stretch northward from the Ochlockonee to Indian Pass in the Panhandle. For the west coast of Florida, a storm surge warning was issued from Bonita Beach to the Aucilla River.
Also Read: Tropical Storm Elsa May Hamper Search and Rescue Efforts in Florida Collapsed Condo
Potential Power Outages
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a state of emergency in Citrus, Hardee, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Levy, Miami-Dade, Charlotte, Hernando, Monroe, Pasco, DeSoto, Pinellas Hillsborough, and Sarasota.
The emergency management director of the state, Kevin Guthrie, said people should get ready for prolonged power outages, mostly in places where there are so many trees that could be taken down by the wind. Duke Energy said that it will move power utility crews Sunday so they can be positioned in areas and prepare to aid in restoring power once it is safe to do so.
Florida Power & Light reveals it has its emergency response plan activated and has about 6,000 workers available to respond.
A spokesman for the sheriff's office in Monroe County, Adam Linhardt, where the Keys are positioned, told weather.com Sunday that he is hoping that residents were observing the storm. DeSantis gave a reminder to residents telling them to adhere to proper generator safety rules when power outages occur.
At a Sunday news briefing, DeSantis said in the last four years more people have lost their lives from carbon monoxide poisoning than from the effects of storms, and there have been quite a few of them.
Engineers Demolishes the Standing Portion of the Building
Last week, Engineers made a decision that the remnants of the collapsed condominium building needed to be brought down for safety reasons.
The timeline for demolition was hastened because of fears that Elsa's winds could bring down the rest of the standing building and cause more hazardous conditions at the scene.
Levine Cava said the main priority was for the building to be brought down "as soon as possible and as safely as possible."
Sunday night explosives were set off to pull down the standing portion of the condominium building.
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