Collier leaders declare local state of emergency in case Tropical Storm Ian impacts region

The Collier County Commission declared a local state of emergency on Sunday in case Tropical Storm Ian changes its track in the coming days, as Lee County continues to monitor the storm.

The Collier board met in an emergency session and received updates from staff about preparations for the storm.

More: Tropical Storm Ian prep continues throughout Southwest Florida on Saturday

More: Tropical Storm Ian expected to become a hurricane by Monday; much of FL Gulf Coast under threat

“We want to have the framework to move forward and quickly in the event we see a track change,” said Dan Summers, the county director of emergency services.

There are no evacuation orders and no emergency shelters are being opened at this time, he said.

Summers said the current forecast has Ian becoming a Category 3 or 4 storm and there is concern at the National Hurricane Center that when there is a “rapid intensification” of a storm it can create variables with the track.

“We have a readiness posture,” he told commissioners. “Rapid intensification means we could have the storm boil up very quickly but also a change in the track.”

Declaring the local emergency enables the county’s emergency operations center to respond quickly if the storm’s course changes, and one challenge he wants to avoid is any potential evacuation occurrence happening after dark, he said.

Another unknown is what will happen when Ian gets into the Gulf of Mexico where the water temperature is at a warm 86 degrees to 89 degrees, which can cause the storm to grow, Summers said.

The track on Sunday has Ian anywhere from 25 to 50 miles offshore when it reaches Collier, he said. There is a 50% chance that Collier will experience tropical force winds, a 10% to 15% chance of higher strength winds and a 15% to 40% chance of flash flooding.

Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said an additional 18 deputies were assigned to be at busy home improvement stores, gas stations, and grocery stores that began seeing a lot more traffic on Friday and Saturday as people prepared.

“Everybody in the community has been very good,” Rambosk said. “There was a little congestion at gas stations.”

County Manager Amy Patterson said in the event Collier is impacted by Ian with heavy rains and flooding, residents are urged to document in their neighborhood.

“The word flooding means a lot of different things to different people,” Patterson said.

If floodwater covers streets or comes into your home, that is when the county needs to be contacted, she said.

Here are some tips:

►  Collier residents are encouraged to sign up for Alert Collier, the mass notification system. When you sign up with Alert Collier, you can enter up to five addresses within the County boundaries that you would like to receive emergency alerts. For example, enter your home, work, relative, school, or other meaningful address. Then, you will receive a notification if an alert is issued for that location. Register at www.AlertCollier.com or call 3-1-1 within Collier County

►The public should continually monitor local media and the National Weather Service https://www.weather.gov/mfl/ for updated information.

Collier County will post all information and notifications at www.colliercountyfl.gov. You can also follow it on social media, including https://www.facebook.com/CollierGov/ and www.twitter.com/CollierGov

Lee County

Lee County officials closely monitor Tropical Storm Ian, they reported in a Sunday news release. There are no posted closures or limitations of county services. Normal operations are planned for Monday.

The Emergency Operations Center is partially activated for planning purposes. No State of Local Emergency is in effect at this time.

Residents are asked to monitor local media and meteorologists’ reports and to check www.leegov.com for storm preparation information and specific Tropical Storm Ian updates. Follow Lee County Government at https://www.facebook.com/leecountyflbocc. No State of Local Emergency is in effect at this time.

Cape Coral officials said the same, while urging residents to go to  www.capecoral.gov for storm preparation information and specific Tropical Storm Ian updates. Follow City of Cape Coral Government at facebook.com/CityofCapeCoral.

On Saturday, Lee County Sheriff's Office urged people to take time to prepare.

"Be courteous with each other when pumping gas and shopping at local stores, the sheriff's Facebook page said. "Deputies are hard at work answering calls for service. Help us divert resources to calls for service that don’t involve 24 packs of water at Publix."

More: Hurricane Ian: See spaghetti models, path and storm activity for Florida

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Collier declares local emergency; Lee officials in watch mode