Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for Florida on Thursday, October 12, 2023 related to the surprise attack on Israel by Hamas and ensuing war, declaring in an executive order that Floridians need help evacuating from Israel and local police agencies need assistance handling pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
According to DeSantis’s executive order, these concerns “constitute a major disaster” and will authorize the leaders of Florida’s National Guard and State Guard to activate their forces “as needed” to respond.
DeSantis also noted in this executive order that “more than 20,000 Americans, including many Floridians, in Israel who wish to return home but have been prevented from doing so because of commercial flight cancellations and other travel and logistics disruptions due to the ongoing war in the region.”
“We will not leave our residents behind,” he tweeted on X. “To the many Floridians who are stuck in Israel, trying to get home — help is on the way.”
There have been 27 Americans confirmed dead in Israel and 14 unaccounted for but those numbers were expected to rise, spokesperson for the National Security Council John Kirby told reporters at a White House briefing Thursday.
What does it mean when Florida calls for a “state of emergency,” especially for one that’s overseas? Here’s what to know about the state’s laws and system when a state of emergency is called.
According to Florida Law, it says that “a state of emergency shall be declared by executive order or proclamation of the Governor if she or he finds an emergency has occurred or that the occurrence or the threat thereof is imminent.”
Once a state of emergency has been declared the governor may take “direct operational control” over any or all of the emergency management functions of the state and assign people to coordinate and direct them.
The governor may suspend regulations that would slow emergency response, commandeer or utilize any private property needed to deal with the emergency (with some restrictions), order evacuations, direct or delegate control of the National Guard to help rescue or cleanup operations, suspend the sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives and combustibles, establish emergency housing, limit power services as needed, impose or allow exceptions to curfews, and quite a bit more as needed by the specific emergency.
