Miami-Dade County prepares for Tropical Storm Eta

Two evacuation centers offer refuge for residents in low-lying areas and mobile homes

MIAMI ( November 08, 2020 ) —

Due to severe weather related to Tropical Storm Eta and in conjunction with Miami-Dade County’s declared State of Emergency, government offices and many services have shut down.

Miami-Dade County currently is under a Tropical Storm Warning, a Storm Surge Warning and a Hurricane Watch. Sustained winds with gusts of 50-60 miles per hour may occur overnight, lingering into Monday morning. There is also the possibility of tornadoes.

Additional rainfall of three to six inches may occur in the next 24 hours, with significant intermittent rain bands. Storm surge and rising water are a concern in low-lying areas, such as South Dade and Homestead.

For residents in these low-lying areas, people living in mobile homes and those needing to take refuge, Fuchs Pavilion Evacuation Center is open at 10901 Coral Way, with entry through Gate 2. Those arriving should have necessities, including blankets, pillows, medicine and required facial coverings.

An additional evacuation center is open at South Dade High School. For more information on these centers and weather updates, see miamidade.gov/emergency.

Miami-Dade County transit operations ceased at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 8 in preparation for Eta. Collection of solid waste and recycling has been suspended.

Bridges have been locked down. County parks, beaches, marinas, golf courses and other public outdoor spaces have been closed. All County government offices will be closed on Monday, November 9, 2020.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools will also be closed on Monday.

For information on re-openings, see miamidade.gov.

All COVID-19 testing sites have been closed until after the storm passes. For information on testing, see miamidade.gov/covid-testing.

As of 12 a.m. Sunday, November 8, PortMiami was closed for operations in preparation for tropical storm gale force winds. MIA remains open. Generally, airlines pause operations before sustained crosswinds reach 35+ mph. The FAA and MIA towers don't operate in sustained winds of 55+ mph. Please contact your airline for flight status.

FPL has 10,000 restoration personnel on hand to deal with any impacts from Eta, and backup from Texas has also been called in to prepare for any outages that may occur.

The 311 call center is operating continuously throughout the storm to answer questions.