- November 16, 2024
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Flagler County has lifted the evacuation order it issued yesterday, Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 30.
I would truly recommend people just stay home and take advantage of a rainy day, and stay home and stay inside."
— JONATHAN LORD, Flagler County Emergency Management director
Idalia has shifted westward of initial projections, making landfall near Keaton Beach in Taylor County at about 7:45 a.m. Wednesday. Weather in Flagler County will be more stable than initially expected, leading the county to lift the evacuation order at 9 a.m. and plan to close the hurricane shelter at Rymfire Elementary as soon as county staff can ensure a safe transition for evacuees, according to a news release from the Flagler County government. The evacuation order had applied only to residents who lived in mobile homes, trailers or other unsafe housing.
Lord, noting that Flagler County can still expect strong winds, urged residents to remain cautious.
“We will still be having some tropical storm-like conditions, but they are not as intense as initially anticipated," he said, according to the news release.
"I would truly recommend people just stay home and take advantage of a rainy day, and stay home and stay inside," Lord said in a storm update on Flagler Broadcasting's WNZF radio.
The county is seeing winds of 20-25 mph and can expect stronger gusts that could knock down trees or tree limbs, he said on the radio program. County officials also expect some street-level flooding at high tide near the Intracoastal in Beverly Beach and Flagler Beach.
The county may see more severe flooding, he said, "if we do have one of those rain bands that goes through and dumps a lot of that rain at one point in time."
Lord noted that the county remains under a tornado watch.
"If that watch it becomes a warning, it is time for you to immediately hunker down until the warning passes," he said.
