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Governor issues emergency declaration for 54 Florida counties ahead of potential storm

TALLAHASSEE – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared an emergency in 54 counties Thursday ahead of a potential storm in the Gulf of Mexico.

Counties affected by the declaration include:

Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Calhoun, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington counties.

The order comes as tropical wave Invest 97L "is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands," DeSantis' executive order said.

The order said that conditions are favorable for Invest 97L to develop into a tropical depression over the weekend and early next week "over the eastern Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Peninsula."

Based on meteorological reports, the emergency declaration said that there is a "significant threat of heavy rainfall over most of the State of Florida, with the possibility of at least twelve (12) inches of rainfall over the next seven (7) days."

It is expected that any "prolonged heavy rainfall" from the potential storm could result in "river flooding, coastal flooding, erosion, and gusty winds."