- November 23, 2024
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Flagler County inmates pack sandbags at Bay Drive Park ahead of Hurricane Milton. Photo by Sierra Williams
Flagler County inmates pack sandbags at Bay Drive Park ahead of Hurricane Milton. Photo by Sierra Williams
Palm Coast residents gather at the Indian Trails Sports Complex to pack sandbags. Photo by Sierra Williams
Jim and Ruth Brown tie up their 10 sandbags. Photo by Sierra Williams
Palm Coast residents Katie and Daniel Wagner filling sandbags at Indian Trails Sports Complex. Photo by Sierra Williams
Joseph Navas (center) at the Indian Trails Sports Complex sandbagging station. Photo by Sierra Williams
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin signs a proclamation declaring a local state of emergency for Palm Coast. Courtesy of Palm Coast
Florida is bracing for Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 hurricane that is expected to make landfall on the west coast by early Wednesday morning.
According to the National Hurricane Center, as of 1 p.m. on Oct. 7, Hurricane Milton is around 700 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida and has maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. Flagler County is one of over 51 counties in Florida under a state of emergency, according to a press release from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Flagler County residents should finish their storm preparations by the end of day on Monday, Oct. 7, Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said in a virtual announcement on Facebook. The county is currently under flood watch, he said, and a flood advisory around Haw Creek.
Residents should prepared for tropical storm force winds by Wednesday afternoon, Lord said, with a potential for hurricane force winds. Residents can expect localized flooding and, similar to the impacts of Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, some of that flooding will likely happen after the storm as the St. Johns river fills with runoff, he said.
"Since Saturday, we've already amassed five inches of rain," Lord said. "Between today and this Friday, from Milton, we expect another 8 to 10 inches of rain, depending on where you are within our county."
The county also expects to see tides between 3 and 5 feet higher than normal along the Atlantic Coast and Intracoastal Waterway, he said.
In Palm Coast on Oct. 7, Mayor David Alfin signed a proclamation declaring a local state of emergency for Palm Coast. This allows the city to obtain emergency resources and allows state and federal resources to flow quickly to the area, Communications Director Brittany Kershaw said.
In preparation for an inundation of rain, Kershaw said, since Sunday, Oct. 6, the city has mobilized 10 pumper trucks to empty out lift stations across the city in order to make room for more capacity when the storm hits. Those trucks have been operating 24 hours and another 14 pumper trucks are on standby, she said.
The water from the lift stations is being pumped into the trucks and the water will be taken directly to a treatment center. A lot of people don't know that the lift stations receive more than just wastewater, Kershaw said, but also receives infiltration from rain during storms, as well.
"We will continue that operation as long as the weather conditions allow for us to do that," Kershaw said.
The city asks that residents silence their PEP tank alarms if they go off, and give it about 24 hours to level out before reaching out to the city, she said, unless wastewater begins backing up into their homes.
"If any residents are having backup in their homes — in the showers is usually the first area you'll see — then we would like them to call us and we'll have have a technician dispatched immediately to go respond to that," Kershaw said.
The city is also asking residents to limit any non-essential water usage during the storms as well, she said.
Residents are asked to report issues on either Palm Coast Connect or to the city call center, at 386-986-2360. The city's website is currently in "Emergency Mode" and will stay that way throughout the storm.
"Which means that every Palm Coast connect case that goes in is treated as an emergency," Kershaw said. "That is definitely the number one way for residents to alert the city of any city services that are needed — downed trees, PEP tanks, blockages in their swale, those sorts of things."
The city's call center is also open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 7-8. Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 9, the call center will be open 24 hours until Hurricane Milton passes, Kershaw said.
Already, the rain has caused one road in Palm Coast's K Section — Karas Trail — to begin crumbling, Kershaw said, forcing that residential road to be closed. A detour is in place on Karat Path.
The city's stormwater department was also activated on Oct. 6 to address potential swale system blockages. Kershaw said that standing water in the swales and even some water on the road is normal — it is when the water covers the crown of the road that it means there could be a potential blockage in the swale system.
If any resident should see water covering the crown of the road, they're asked to report it to the city, she said.
The county urges residents to prepare supplies like non-perishable food, batteries, flashlights, and medications and to secure loose items that could become projectiles in high winds, a county press release said.
No evacuation orders are in place yet for Flagler County, Lord said. Residents can check the county's potential evacuation zones by going to www.flaglercounty.gov/emergency, clicking the link on the left side of the page titled "Hurricane Evacuation Zones," and then following the prompted instructions.
All residents in the following neighborhoods should prepare for potential evacuations, with specific information to be announced between Oct. 7-9:
"We do not expect to do an evacuation order for release another day, but if we listed your neighborhoods, please be prepared to evacuate on short notice," Lord said.
Residents who need sandbags to protect their homes, should purchase them at local hardware stores.
For those unable to do so, local governments are making them available at these locations while supplies last:
