Small Business Administration Assistance

Apply now: https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov

For help with your application contact the Customer Service Center: 1-800-659-2955 (If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services ) or email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov

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Press Release

Hardee County - Hurricane Ian Recovery Update Sunday October 4, 2022

 

Download the official press release here

 

Hardee County, Florida – Homes that were once fully submerged in flood waters, are now becoming accessible for assessment by Hardee County Sheriff deputies. Flooding is still present throughout the county along the Peace River, with receding waters highlighting extensive damages to homes, trees, and infrastructure. Shifting demands have kept operations flexible and working to right-size crews for the needs at hand.

Collaborative work done between Public Works and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT ) has expedited road and bridge assessments. The opening of HWY 17, a main artery through the county, along with several auxiliary roads is positive progress towards transportation normalization. Closed roads and temporary access roads will continue to be present throughout the county as plans are developed based off FDOT assessments.

Communication infrastructure, where damage has hindered the response, is returning to relatively normal capacity. 911 services had returned to 100%, but were experiencing some issues later in the day. Contingency plans are in place and functioning while first line services are being addressed.

The rebuilding process is beginning for many Hardee County community members. As they return to their once submerged homes, the magnitude of the storm and its affects are felt throughout the community. With that has come a resiliency in the community to support neighbors. An extensive network of volunteers operating through the Emergency Operating Center (EOC ) has helped deliver food and water, aid in shelters, and direct community members to needed resources. The Southern Baptist Disaster Relief has organized a hot meal service at the First Baptist Church of Wauchula – today serving around 2,000 meals. The National Guard continues to support mission assignments – getting food and water out to more
isolated and harder to reach areas of the county – while supporting the Hardee County Sheriff with Point of Distribution (POD ) sites. FEMA has had an active presence in the county, working to register community members for federal assistance.

Work between Hardee County Emergency Management, the State Emergency Response Team (SERT ) of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM ) , and the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office (OSFM ) Incident Management Team (IMT ) , along with 18 Emergency Support Functions (ESF ) has seen an effective and efficient collaboration – utilizing the Incident Command System (ICS ) . While much work remains, the streamlined effort has quickened efforts to bring the community home and begin the steps toward a sense of normalcy.

Information updates are being posted to the Hardee County Emergency Management Facebook page.

Public Information:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HardeeEOC

Hardee County Info Page - https://www.hardeecountyfl.gov/

EOC Hotline - 863-773-6373

 

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DEBRIS COLLECTION NOTIFICATION

Please do not mix your yard debris with household trash. For more information please see the Hurricane Clean Up Guide below.

Download Debris Collection Flyer

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Road Closure Information

 

Please click here for a map of Road Closures

 

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Local State of Emergency Notification

Please click the link for the BOCC Local State of Emergency Declaration

Resolution 2022-23 Local State of Emergency

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Hardee County Budget 2022-2023

Tentative Adopted Budget 2022-2023

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Now accepting Advisory Board Applications for County Boards.

For more information, please contact Danielle DeLeon, Office Manager via phone (863-773-9430 ) or email (bcc@hardeecounty.net ) .

• Advisory Board Application

 

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Corona Virus Notifications

 

Please first contact your health care provider or the local Department of Health if you are at risk for coronavirus (COVID-19 ) . Risk factors that may indicate COVID-19 include fever, cough, or flu-like signs, AND either recent international travel OR contact with someone recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Health care officials will direct you to the appropriate place for care. To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, you should avoid the emergency department at your local hospital except in the event of an emergency.

Stay Informed: Coronavirus Resources Here

floridahealth.gov COVID-19 information

Sign up to receive emergency notifications and other community events from Hardee County sent from our AlertHardee notification system at https://member.everbridge.net/453003085614890/login.

This mass notification system enables us to provide you with time-sensitive information for a variety of situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons and evacuations of buildings or neighborhoods. You will receive time-sensitive messages wherever you specify, such as your mobile, email address, text messages, home, business phone, TTY and more. You pick where, you pick how.