MEMORANDUM

TO:                 Members of the Press

FROM:           Taryn Fenske, Director of Communications, Governor Ron DeSantis

DATE:            Thursday, November 10, 2022

RE:                 Executive Order 22-256 (Amending Executive Order 22-253, Emergency Management – Hurricane Nicole)

Good afternoon:

Today, Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 22-256 (Amending Executive Order 22-253, Emergency Management – Hurricane Nicole), expanding the state of emergency to all 67 Florida counties.

Thursday morning, Hurricane Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane near Vero Beach, Florida. As of 10:00am, Nicole was downgraded to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The Florida Division of Emergency Management, working with the National Hurricane Center to evaluate weather predictions, has determined there is a continuing risk of dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, strong winds, hazardous seas, and isolated tornadic activity. Timely precautions are needed to restore the impacted communities, infrastructure, and the general welfare of Florida.

A copy of Executive Order 22-256 can be found here.

Sincerely,

Taryn Fenske

Director of Communications

Governor Ron DeSantis

STATE OF FLORIDA

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 22-256

(Amending Executive Order 22-253, Emergency Management-Hurricane Nicole)

WHEREAS, on November 7, 2022, I issued Executive Order 22-253 and declared a state of emergency exists for thirty-four counties in Florida’s Peninsula due to then-Subtropical Storm Nicole; and

WHEREAS, on November 9, 2022, I issued Executive Order 22-255, amending Executive Order 22-253 by adding coastal and inland counties in Central and North Florida to the state of emergency; and

WHEREAS, as of 6:00 PM on November 9, 2022, Nicole had strengthened into a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as it passed over Grand Bahama Island and approached Florida’s East Coast; and

WHEREAS, in the early morning hours of November 10, 2022, Hurricane Nicole made landfall as a Category 1 Hurricane near Vero Beach, Florida, with sustained winds of approximately 75 mph and is expected to move northwest across Florida’s Peninsula and exit partially into the Gulf of Mexico before making a second landfall in the Florida Big Bend on Thursday night; and

WHEREAS, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, working together with the National Hurricane Center to evaluate weather predictions, has determined there is a continuing risk of dangerous storm surge, heavy rainfall, flash flooding, strong winds, hazardous seas, and isolated tornadic activity for much of Florida’s Peninsula and portions of the Florida Big Bend, North Florida, and Northeast Florida; and

WHEREAS, the threat posed by Hurricane Nicole requires that timely precautions are taken to protect the communities, critical infrastructure, and general welfare of Florida; and

WHEREAS, as Governor, I am responsible to meet the dangers presented to Florida and its people by this emergency.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RON DESANTIS, as Governor of Florida, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Article IV, Section l(a) of the Florida Constitution and by the Florida Emergency Management Act, as amended, and all other applicable laws, promulgate the following Executive Order, to take immediate effect:

Section 1. Section 1 of Executive Order 22-253 is amended to include the entire State of Florida.

Section 2. Except as amended herein, Executive Order 22-253 is ratified and reaffirmed.

Section 3. This Order is effective immediately.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Florida to be affixed, at Tallahassee, this 10th day of November, 2022.

Governor Ron DeSantis

Attest: Secretary of State

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