Miami-Dade Police Staffing Shelters Until Additional Help Arrives
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade Police Officers are helping to staff hurricane shelters.
The National Guard is on the way but in the meantime, Miami-Dade Police has jumped in to help.
Due to overwhelming need from residents in evacuation zones, the county opened up an additional 22 shelters to accommodate those in need.
Related: Miami-Dade Shelters, What's Open & What's Full
"It's all hands on deck," said Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez. "We've never opened 43 shelters at the same time."
Officers are jumping in across Miami-Dade County as the number of shelters open far exceeds the amount of county employees and volunteers available to help.
This all is happing while extremely strong Hurricane Irma continue to move towards Florida.
"We're prepared and ready to deal with the unexpected," said Perez.
Related: What To Bring To A Hurricane Shelter
Residents are encouraged to arrive wherever they plan to ride out the storm by Friday night.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate on Saturday morning and continue to worsen as the storm nears.
- Click here for ways to prepare yourself for an impending storm from our Hurricane Preps page
- Click here for latest news surrounding hurricanes and the National Hurricane Center
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- Click here to download the CBS4 2017 Hurricane Guide (English)
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