Emergency Alert · Florida · Published October 6, 2026, 8:15 PM CDT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Tuesday declaring a state of emergency for 25 counties in preparation for Tropical Depression Nine. RELATED:[1]
Tropical Depression Nine forms in the Gulf Tuesday afternoon The order ensures communities in the Panhandle and Big Bend have time and resources to prepare for potential impacts.
The following counties are included: – Baker – Bay – Calhoun – Columbia – Dixie – Escambia – Franklin – Gadsden – Gilchrist – Gulf – Hamilton – Holmes – Jackson – Jefferson – Lafayette – Leon – Liberty – Madison – Okaloosa – Santa Rosa – Suwannee – Taylor – Wakulla – Walton – Washington
The governor encourages residents to have a plan in place and keep emergency supply kits stocked. To follow updates from the Florida Division of Emergency Management, click here.
To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WJHG on Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter).
Key Facts
- Where: Florida
- Type: Declared emergency
- Official source: not yet found on a .gov site; this report relies on news coverage
- Outlets reporting: 11
Video: FOX Weather, October 6, 2026 — “Tropical Depression Nine Forms, Set To Intensify Into Dangerous Hurricane Making U.S. Landfall”. Matched to this story by shared names and terms in its title; watch the original for full context.
Where It Applies
How 11 Outlets Are Reporting It
- DeSantis declares state of emergency for parts of northern Florida as Tropical Depression 9 is expected to strengthen (wtsp.com)
- Florida governor declares state of emergency for 25 counties ahead of Tropical Depression 9 (WJHG)
- Florida Gov. DeSantis declares state of emergency ahead of tropical depression (WKMG)
- Baker, Columbia among 25 Florida counties under state of emergency as Tropical Depression Nine forms (cedarnews.net)
- Florida declares state of emergency for 25 counties as Tropical Depression Nine forms (WPBF)
- State of emergency declared for 25 Florida counties ahead of Tropical Depression Nine: Governor DeSantis (WPTV)
- Governor DeSantis issues state of emergency for parts of Florida due to Tropical Depression Nine (firstcoastnews.com)
- Baker, Columbia among 25 Florida counties under state of emergency as Tropical Depression Nine forms (News4JAX)
- Florida Declares State Of Emergency For 25 Counties As Tropical Depression Nine Eyes Gulf Coast (AOL.com)
- DeSantis declares emergency for 25 Florida counties ahead of Tropical Depression Nine (wtwcfox)
If You Live There
FEMA keeps a running list of federal disaster declarations, with the date and the assistance each one opens, at fema.gov/disaster/declarations.
Declarations change. They are often extended, narrowed or ended early, so check the official source linked above before you act on anything in this post.
References
Investigative methodology: this alert was selected because 11 news organizations reported the same declaration; no .gov announcement had been found when it was written. Quoted text is verbatim from the cited sources. Produced by scripts/emergency_alert_scanner.py, not a language model.
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