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Jun 15, 2023

Tropical Storm Idalia on Cape Coral's radar; officials urge prep

The city of Cape Coral is monitoring Tropical Storm Idalia and encourages residents to prepare. "As of the 11 am update from the National Hurricane Center, Southwest Florida is under a tropical storm

The city of Cape Coral is monitoring Tropical Storm Idalia and encourages residents to prepare.

"As of the 11 am update from the National Hurricane Center, Southwest Florida is under a tropical storm warning from soon-to-be Hurricane Idalia, which means it is possible we may experience storm surge, rainfall, and windy conditions beginning tomorrow morning as the storm passes by so residents should get prepared now," said Cape Coral Spokesperson Melissa Mickey.

There is no state of local emergency declared as of noon Monday, but Cape Coral Emergency Management is monitoring all storm activity.

"We work closely with our county partners and will make decisions regarding the activation of our Emergency Operations Center based on the forecast," Mickey said.

The city is lowering weirs today, fueling fleet vehicles, and gathering storm supplies.

The city encourages residents to put up their storm shutters today before conditions deteriorate tomorrow.

Complete your hurricane kits, including water, non-perishable food, and medications, and the city recommends purchasing a hand crank radio.

"If we cannot communicate through standard methods, tune into the Beasley Media Group for important Cape Coral updates," Mickey said.

City buildings will be open for regular operating hours, and city meetings are still scheduled to take place. Residents will be notified of any changes via press releases and social media.

In the case of city-wide loss of power and WI-FI, sandwich boards will be deployed near each fire station. Flyers and daily updates will also be delivered to each fire station around noon.

"We will never run out, we will always keep at least one flyer so people can take a picture of it with their phone – so there is no need to rush to stations," Mickey said.

Follow The City of Cape Coral Government on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CityofCapeCoral. They post updates to their social media pages throughout the day.