Lee County Public Safety / Emergency Management personnel are monitoring Tropical Storm Erika. Forecasts continue to bring Erika in the general direction of the Florida peninsula within the next four days, but it’s still too early to determine any potential impacts Southwest Florida may experience.

The next 24 to 48 hours remain critical to understanding the forecast of both intensity and track of Erika.

Lee County Emergency Management asks residents to monitor the storm and watch for updates on its website — www.leeeoc.com — or its Facebook pageThe county’s Emergency Operations Center is not activated at this time.

Public Safety/Emergency Management staff have spent the last few days touching base with partner agencies, coordinating with meteorologists on expected track forecast and maintaining Emergency Operations Center (EOC) readiness, should the need to activate the EOC arise.

“Whether we see impacts from Erika or not, this is a great opportunity to review your family’s and/or business disaster plan, build your emergency supply kit and make the necessary preparations should this storm affect our area,” said Rob Farmer, director of Public Safety for Lee County.

The complete All Hazards Guide outlines those preparations and is available for free online at: www.leegov.com/publicsafety/emergencymanagement/plan/ahg