Oil spill causes state of emergency in Florida
Photo of oil spill courtesy of NASA. The spill could be one of the worst in history.
Gov. Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency in the Panhandle area due to the threat that oil leaking from the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform and well poses to the State of Florida. This emergency declaration will ensure timely precautions are taken to protect natural resources, beaches and other coastal ecosystems, communities and the general welfare of this state, and to initiate measures to provide assistance to other states in need.
On April 21, 2010, an explosion on the mobile drilling platform Deepwater Horizon occurred approximately 130 miles southeast of New Orleans, Louisiana. The resulting fire damaged the rig and it sank on April 22, 2010. The rig contained 700,000 gallons of petroleum products, and it is unclear how much of that fuel was consumed by the fire. Efforts to contain the crude oil leaking from the well have not been successful.
On April 24, 2010, the United States Coast Guard (“USCG”) estimated that the well was releasing approximately 42,000 gallons of crude oil per day. On April 28, 2010, the USCG increased this estimate to 200,000 gallons per day. The resulting oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is at least 600 square miles in areal extent and expanding. The oil slick is generally moving in a northerly direction and threatens Florida’s coast. Oil continues to spill from the well as all efforts to stop the discharge have failed and may not succeed for an extended period of time.
“As Governor, I am responsible for meeting the dangers presented to this state and its people by this emergency,” said Crist. “Based on the foregoing conditions, I find that this event threatens the State of Florida with a major disaster and proclaim a state of emergency exists for the following counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay and Gulf.”
While Broward County is not directly affected yet by this disaster, Florida, with the support of Washington D.C. has considered putting oil rigs off the coast of eastern Florida. Fort Lauderdale, as well as several other cities have adopted resolutions against drilling in the Gulf and Atlantic Oceans. Back in February, Floridians across the state gathered for a “Hands Across the Sand” event that brought large crowds to the beaches statewide to protest oil drilling off Florida’s shores.
“If we don’t secure this well, this could be one of the most significant in U.S. history,” said Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District in a LiveScience.com interview.
At least 4.2 million gallons of oil could be spilled. How much is that?
Related posts:
- Crist declares state of emergency in Broward
- Oil spill enters the loop current, Broward coastal cities meet to develop emergency plan
- Wildfires cause state of emergency in Florida
- Officials respond to oil near Florida beaches; 90 days to stop
- Broward mayor meets with Sen. LeMieux on oil spill preparations
Short URL: https://browardnetonline.com/?p=7780
Posted by AdamF on Apr 30 2010. Filed under Broward County, Environmental, Federal Government, Fort Lauderdale, International relations, Local news, Tallahassee. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
the oil spill in Mexico would surely be one of the greatest environmental disasters for this year.,-:
I have tried to reach an agency of one sort of another to volunteer my time to help with the oil spill even if it be making phone calls for towels and dawn soap…how sad…two days later…no calls bck nor emails…HELP?
Shawn: Don’t “volunteer” your time! BP caused the oil spill and is responsible for the clean-up costs, so don’t be a fool by donating your time. Sign up to get paid for your hard work!