Cape Coral urges caution, won't declare emergency right now as Tropical Storm Idalia approaches

Cape Coral officials chose not to declare a state of local emergency but urge residents to prepare as Tropical Storm Idalia grows into a hurricane.

"At this time based on the storm's forecasted intensity and location of landfall, and what we anticipate having with the wind speed in Cape Coral, we are not anticipating today to declare a state of local emergency," said Interim City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn.

Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter delivered the 4 p.m. update and said the city is preparing for the storm by lowering weirs, fueling fleet vehicles, gathering storm supplies, and keeping employees and other stakeholders ready.

"We want to basically encourage our residents to stay calm, but be prepared," Gunter said. "I think that's the most important message that we can get out to our community."

Idalia is estimated to bring 2-4 inches of rain. Evacuation is not recommended.

The city will continue to monitor and update the status as the day progresses. City operations will continue as normal.

The city is also fully staffed, but Gunter said they are in a "wait-and-see pattern" right now.

"Staff is taking a look every so often during the course of the day, getting the update from the national weather station to make sure that we have the most up-to-date information as well," Gunter said.

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Gunter said the city still has battle scars left after Hurricane Ian, so he asked residents to be cautious and monitor what's going on with the weather.

In case of widespread electrical or internet outage, residents are encouraged to seek additional information from the fire stations in the city, or through radio stations 96.1 and 103.9.

Follow the City of Cape Coral Government on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CityofCapeCoral. They post updates to their social media pages throughout the day.

Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral urges caution as Tropical Storm Idalia approaches