Hurricane Central

Tropical Storm Emily Prompts State of Emergency in Florida; Two Fishermen Rescued in Tampa Bay

At a Glance

Just before landfall, a state of emergency was declared for 31 Florida counties in the path of Tropical Storm Emily.
Tampa Bay's Sunshine Skyway bridge was closed because of high winds from the storm.
Some 18,000 homes and businesses lost power, according to Florida Gov. Rick Scott.

The quick-hitting Tropical Storm Emily, downgraded to a tropical depression late Monday afternoon, wasted little time dumping heavy rain on parts of Florida's Gulf Coast, and officials didn't wait long to escalate the severity of their warnings to the public.

Late Monday morning, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for 31 of Florida's 67 counties in the path of the storm's worst impacts. The emergency declaration, which makes resources available for storm response, includes the Tampa area, where some of the heaviest rainfall is expected to fall in the early stages of Emily's interaction with land.

As he met with the state's Emergency Operations Center, Scott asked residents in the path of the storm to remain vigilant, according to the Associated Press.

(MORE: The Latest Forecast for Emily)

"This morning was pretty bad. It rained pretty hard. I got a little leak in my Jeep even," Kevin Baker, a 53-year-old retiree who frequents Treasure Island, told the AP.

During an afternoon news briefing, Scott told reporters there were about 18,000 homes and businesses without power – most of which were in Manatee County. By Monday evening, fewer than 8,000 customers were still in the dark, Florida's Division of Emergency Management told the AP.

Coast Guard Rescues Two Men Offshore

The Coast Guard said it rescued a pair of fishermen who were found in Tampa Bay just before 10 a.m. EDT Monday morning. According to the report, 47-year-old Tung Le and 41-year-old Thanh Le were fishing aboard their 17-foot boat when the engine died and the craft began to sink.

Twenty minutes after the 911 call was received by the Coast Guard, a crew reached the boat and rescued the men. They were not injured, the report added.

"It was dying down when we were out there and finally everything started going wrong," Thanh Le said in the report. "The waves started hitting while we were trying to fix the bilge in the back and when we turned around we were drifting out."

Sunshine Skyway Bridge Closed; Flights Delayed

The conditions forced officials to close the Sunshine Skyway, a key bridge in the Tampa area, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The Florida Highway Patrol said it was the high winds from Emily that forced the closure.

More than a dozen flights were delayed Monday morning at Tampa International Airport, the report added.