Governor Crist Declares State of Emergency in Miami-Dade Due to Oil Threat

NASA

A satellite view of the oil spill taken by NASA

​On news that some oil had begun leaking into the Loop Current, Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency for Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Monroe counties. A state of emergency had already been declared in the pandhandle and central Florida counties on the Gulf Coast. All in all, 26 of Florida's 67 counties are under the declaration.

According the News-Press, the declaration "frees up emergency money, waives highway weight limits if needed to respond to the crisis, begins price-gouging enforcement and activates the Florida National Guard."

"Reports have been received indicating that oil from the spill has entered the loop current in the Gulf of Mexico, thereby creating a potential threat to additional counties bordering the Gulf along the Atlantic seaboard," Crist wrote in the executive order.