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Miami Mayor Francis Suarez Declares State Of Emergency As Hurricane Dorian's Cone Shifts

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has declared a state of emergency in Miami, even though the City is no longer in Hurricane Dorian's forecast cone.

While South Florida is breathing a collective sigh of relief, residents cannot and should not put their guard down because intense wind is expected to still impact the area.

"It's apparent we will receive some sort of tropical storm force winds and potential flooding and for that reason and because our state, federal, and county partners have declared similarly, I will be declaring a state of emergency in the City of Miami," said Mayor Suarez on Saturday afternoon.

"It gives our government whatever decisions are necessary to protect our residents," he added.

Suarez signed the declaration surrounded by Miami Commissioners at a sandbag distribution location.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez signs state pf emergency declaration ahead of Hurricane Dorian on Saturday, August 31, 2019. (CBS4)

"We hope for the best and are continuing to hope for the best, and we're hoping our residents also remain vigilant," he said.

In addition, Suarez says the City has ordered 10,000 new bags to fill up with sand and give to residents until 8:00 p.m. Saturday night.

The city has also ordered more water and ice. It is being held at Marlins Park and "will be distributed throughout the city if needed and if we have power outages," he announced.

Dorian is currently at extremely strong Category 4 hurricane packing 150 mph winds.

 

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