North Central Florida braces for Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton is projected to make landfall Wednesday evening. National Hurricane Center
Hurricane Milton is projected to make landfall Wednesday evening.
National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Milton continues to barrel toward Florida’s west coast likely making landfall on Wednesday night in the Tampa area.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the Category 4 storm has sustained winds of 150-plus mph as of Tuesday morning and Milton is projected to have a 10-15 foot storm surge along the coast that will push inland. NHC provided a graphic for the potential storm surge flooding map area.

In the Gainesville area, the forecast calls and 20-30 mph winds with a total rainfall between 3 to 6 inches on Wednesday and Thursday.

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Shelters will open on Tuesday in Alachua, Dixie, Levy and Gilchrist counties and schools will close in Alachua, Dixie, Levy, Gilchrist and Bradford counties. The University of Florida and Santa Fe College in Gainesville will also be closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

At 11 a.m., the governor’s office, which declared a state of emergency for 51 of Florida’s 67 counties on Sunday, released a statement for the following counties:

Hurricane Warnings: Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter, Sumter and Volusia counties.

Hurricane Watches: Clay, Collier, Duval, Glades, Hendry, Nassau and Okeechobee counties.

Tropical Storm Warnings: Broward, Clay, Coastal Franklin, Coastal Jefferson, Coastal Wakulla, Collier, Dixie, Duval, Gilchrist, Glades, Hendry, Lafayette, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe (Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas), Nassau, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie, Suwannee, Taylor, Western Alachua and Western Columbia counties.

Tropical Storm Watches: Baker, Bradford, Eastern Alachua, Eastern Columbia, Hamilton, Inland Jefferson, Madison and Union counties.

Storm Surge Warning: Dixie/Levy County line south through Mainland Monroe; southward along the east coast of Florida to Port Canaveral.

Storm Surge Watch: Brevard County

UF/IFAS has provided links for storm season that include:

Alachua County and the city of Gainesville have released the following information in preparation for the upcoming storm:

Facilities

  • City offices, facilities, parks, pools and recreation centers are closed Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 9 and 10.

RTS Service

  • Bus service will operate on reduced service tomorrow, Oct. 9. Visit www.go-rts.comfor additional information. 

Public Meetings

  • The General Policy Committee meeting on Thursday has been canceled.
  • Visit the Public Meeting Calendar on the city’s website for the current list of scheduled meetings.

Flood reporting

  • An areal flood watch remains in effect for Alachua County. This means there is potential for flooding as a result of the prolonged, heavy rainfall from H. Milton.
  • Never drive, swim or walk through floodwaters. They may contain raw sewage, debris, chemicals or other pollutants.
  • If you encounter any flooding in your area caused by Hurricane Milton, submit your photos on the Flood Reporter application. Stay safe and do not endanger your safety when taking photographs.
  • During a storm, the status of storm-related Public Works service requests and work orders can be viewed online. Visit the emergency planning maps webpage and select the Public Works Service tile to view the online app. Neighbors can view open service requests and work orders by enter an address using the search bar.
  • To report flooding, blocked streets and other issues that require prompt attention, please call 352-334-5070 use the mygnv app or visit myGNV.org.

Sandbag operations

  • Pre-made sandbags continue 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today, Oct. 8 at the Public Works Center, 405 NW 39th Ave. A limit of 10 filled sandbags per vehicle can be picked up at this location. To ease traffic flow, arrive at this location via northbound NW Sixth Street and then turn east (right) onto NW 39th Ave.
  • Bags and sand to make self-serve sandbags continue 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today, Oct. 8 at Citizens Field, 1000 NE Waldo Rd. Please bring a shovel or trowel to fill sandbags at this location. Assistance is available for those in need. A limit of 10 bags for filling will be provided per vehicle. To ease traffic flow, access the site from NE 12th Ave. via Waldo Road, or travel south on NE 15th Street via NE 16th Ave.
  • For information about sandbags outside Gainesville city limits, contact your local municipality or visit the Alachua County Ready website.

Refuse and Helene yard debris management

  • All residential trash and recycling collection will be delayed beginning tomorrow, Oct. 9. Tomorrow’s collection is expected to occur on Friday, and Thursday’s collection on Saturday. Please do not place containers, branches or other items curbside tomorrow.
  • The city’s disaster debris contractor continues to collect debris left by Hurricane Helene and has collected 4,000 cubic yards of yard waste to date (more than 200 standard truckloads).
  • It is expected to take several weeks to collect all the yard debris and the contractor will make several sweeps through neighborhoods. We appreciate your patience during this time.
  • Alachua County is allowing residents to dispose of yard debris free of charge at the Leveda Brown Environmental Park (5115 NE 63rd Ave., Gainesville), and is lifting the volume limit on yard debris accepted at its five Rural Collection Centers.(The opportunities to drop off yard debris are only for the time leading up to the impact of Hurricane Milton and will not extend beyond its arrival.)
  • Please make sure your current debris piles do not block storm drains, streets, driveways, sidewalks, drainage ditches, storm inlets or other water runoff infrastructure.

Special Needs Registry

  • Alachua County Emergency Management encourages individuals with special needs to register online for the Special Needs Registry Program. The Alachua County Special Needs Registry is intended for those who have certain physical or medical conditions and no options to shelter at home, with friends, family, or elsewhere during a disaster.

Additional resources

  • Visit GRU.com/StormCentral for a list of important phone numbers in the event of service emergencies, as well as a link to the Gainesville Regional Utilities outage map with estimated time of restoration.
  • Visit www.safeGNV.org for all emergency management updates and additional preparedness tips.

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FollowTheScience

Very thorough article. Thank you. Mainstreet News!