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Three Public, One Special Needs Shelter Opens for Hurricane Matthew

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MANATEE COUNTY, FLA (Oct. 6, 2016) Manatee officials announced three public shelters and one special needs shelter will be open today at 4 p.m., meaning Manatee County schools will be closed tomorrow. Manatee Clerk of Court's Office and Manatee courts are closed tomorrow, but there are no plans to close County Government office.

Potential impacts from Hurricane Matthew prompted Manatee Emergency Management officials to urge manufactured and mobile home residents who are most vulnerable to find shelter from the storm.

Manatee County is now under a tropical storm watch and strong winds of 45 mph or more could impact areas of East Manatee. County Commissioners this morning declared a local state of emergency and the Emergency Operations Center was activated at 8 a.m. in advance of Hurricane Matthew.

Sherilyn Burris, Manatee's acting Emergency Management chief said Manatee County may receive tropical force winds tonight and into tomorrow.

"It's never safe to stay in a mobile home or manufactured home in high winds, so we're asking people to evacuate to safer places," Burris said. "If you don't have a safe place to go, we'll have shelters open for you. We're expecting the arrival of strong winds at midnight tonight and into the wee hours of Friday."

Mike Barber, Director of Communications for the School District, said all Manatee County schools will be Friday, Oct. 7. Extracurricular activities and athletic events are cancelled tonight and tomorrow night out of an abundance of caution.

Three public shelters will open today at 4 p.m., including:

Manatee High School, 902 33rd St. Ct. W., Bradenton (pet friendly)

Virgil Mills Elementary School, 7200 69th St. E., Palmetto (pet friendly)

Myakka Elementary 37205 Manatee Ave., Myakka City

Manatee's special needs shelter is also open for the medically needy and those who have registered with the County's Special Needs registry. Burris said there is currently no threat for storm surge along our coast, so no flooding is expected on Manatee's barrier islands.

Manatee County Area Transit Handy Bus riders should expect early pickups today, since the service will be mobilized to help special needs patients who need help evacuating. Tomorrow, the Handy Bus will offer essential medical service trips only. Non essential trips will be postponed in priority of medical trips. Fixed route MCAT continues as normal today and tomorrow unless tropical storm force winds enter the area.

Manatee residents with questions about the storm or about local conditions should call Manatee Citizens Information Center at (941) 748-4501.

For the latest updates on the storm from Manatee County, follow on Twitter @MCGPublicSafety and @ManateeGov or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/manatee.county.fl and www.facebook.com/manateecountyemergencymanagement

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