Escambia Emergency Operations Center Update
September 1, 2008
(Updated 4:30 p.m.) Here is the latest information from the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center:
Shelters
- East Brent Baptist Church, located at 4801 North Davis Highway, in Pensacola opened at 4 p.m. Sunday for local residents and as a host shelter for travelers. Nurses are available for special needs clients. No advance registration required At 4:30 this afternoon, there were 249 people in the shelter: 199 from out of town, 50 local residents and one special needs patient with two caregivers.
Power Outages
- Gulf Power: (800) GU-POWER
- Gulf Power is reporting 2,347 customers without power at 3:00 p.m.
- EREC: (877) OUT-EREC
ECAT
- ECAT buses will not run on Monday…due to the Labor Day holiday.
Trash
- Allied Waste and Century will not have trash pickup on Monday due to Labor Day. Customers scheduled for Monday pickup will be serviced on Tuesday. Customers scheduled for Tuesday pickup will be serviced on Wednesday.
Schools
- UWF will be open on Tuesday for classes as usual.
- PJC will be open Tuesday as usual.
- Escambia County Schools will be open as usual Tuesday.
Citizen Info Line/EOC
- Citizen information phone lines are open at (850) 471-6600 until 7:00 tonight. The EOC will be open until 7:00 tonight. Both will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Evacuations
- There are no evacuations planned in Escambia County at this time.
Pictured above: An update on Hurricane Gustav Sunday afternoon in the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center. Pictured below: EOC staffers were also updated on Tropical Storm Hanna. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com
North Escambia Weather Forecast
September 1, 2008
(Updated 4:30 p.m.) North Escambia remains under a tornado watch and a flash flood watch until midnight.
Here is the weather forecast:
Tonight: Cloudy with showers likely and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 70s. Southeast winds 15 to 20 mph becoming east 5 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Tuesday: Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Tuesday night: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Hurricane Hanna Forms Monday
September 1, 2008
Hurricane Hanna formed Monday afternoon near the southeastern Bahamas.
Winds were at 75 mph, with additional strengthening forecast over the next several days.
The National Hurricane Center forecast takes the storm toward the Georgia coast on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane.
Schools Prepared For Storm
September 1, 2008
Schools in Escambia County are prepared for Hurricane Gustav and the expected tropical storm conditions in North Escambia.
Hurricane shutters were put up Friday in advance of the storm, and on Saturday school buses were recalled to central locations from the homes of bus drivers.
The district is monitoring the progress of Gustav and conditions in Escambia County.
School District spokesperson Ronnie Arnold said district personnel would be assigned to the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center to monitor the hurricane.
Information about school on Tuesday will be relayed to school district employees by email and to the public via news organizations such as NorthEscambia.com.
School is already out on Monday for the Labor Day holiday. As for now, officials say be prepared for school to be in session on Tuesday.
Pictured above: School buses in Escambia County were recalled Saturday from bus driver homes to central locations, such as this parking lot at Ernest Ward Middle School. Pictured below: For the second weekend in a row, hurricane shutters are up at Ernest Ward and other schools across North Escambia. NorthEscambia.com photos.
Evacuation Traffic Smooth North Of Our Area
September 1, 2008
Traffic on I-65 in Atmore was flowing smoothly Sunday afternoon as thousands of evacuees headed north from the the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi and Lousiana.
Motorists experienced few delays in the early afternoon, with near bumper to bumper traffic continuing to move near the speed limit.
Gas was still available at stations at the Atmore Exit 57 early Sunday afternoon, with no more than five or six vehicles waiting in line at any one time. The Atmore Police Department was on hand to ensure the safe flow of traffic in and out of the gas stations at the exit.
Pictured above: The wait was short for gas at a station at I-65 and Highway 21 in Atmore early Sunday afternoon. Pictured below: Near bumper to bumper traffic was moving at near the speed limit northbouth through Atmore. NorthEscambia.com photos.
Trash Pickup Schedule
September 1, 2008
There was no trash pickup Monday in North Escambia, including the town of Century.
It was not because of the hurricane, but because Monday was the Labor Day holiday. Monday pickups were moved to Tuesday, and Tuesday pickups will be on Wednesday. That schedule is in effect in all of North Escambia for Allied Waste customers, including those in Century.
Alabama Orders Evacuations; Prepared To Reverse I-65
September 1, 2008
Alabama Governor Bob Riley declared a state of emergency in advance of Hurricane Gustav.
“The tracking of Hurricane Gustav indicates that Alabama is at risk to sustain damage from high winds, heavy rains, and possible tornadoes,” said Governor Riley. “I am again urging everyone to take the necessary precautions to ensure your and your family’s safety. Because of the high possibilities of damage, it is extremely important to have a declaration in place.”
Governor Riley has already put 3,000 Alabama National Guardsmen on alert, and the Departments of Transportation and Public Safety prepared to reverse flow traffic on I-65, but that did not take place.. That plan would have made all four lanes northbound. Southbound traffic would be re-routed to Highway 31.
Mandatory evacuations in Mobile County south of I-10 and the coastal areas of Baldwin County have led to heavy traffic on I-65.
Pictured above: Alabama State Troopers and the Alabama Highway Department work at the Atmore exit on I-65 late Sunday morning to prepare for making all four lanes northbound. NorthEscambia.com photo.
Gulf Power, EREC Are Prepared For Gustav
September 1, 2008
Gulf Power Company and Escambia River Electric are prepared for whatever Gustav brings to North Escambia.
“We have a storm-tested restoration plan and we’re preparing for widespread power outages,” John Hutchinson, corporate services general manager said. “We’re prepared to activate our emergency operation center and each Gulf Power employee has a specific storm duty to ensure that power is restored quickly and safely.”
“We are watching Gustav closely and all emergency response personnel are ready to respond to whatever the storm may bring our way. Additional co-op crews are on stand-by status to speed the recovery process if needed,” said Clay Campbell, EREC CEO and general manager.
Gulf Power is also checking with neighboring utilities and contractors to put crews on standby in case outside workers are needed. After Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Gulf Power brought in more than 4,000 outside workers. The company is also checking its supplies of materials and reviewing storm assignments.
“We will work as fast and as safely as possible,” Hutchinson said. “We ask our customers to please be patient.”
Hutchinson said if the hurricane does effect us in Northwest Florida, Gulf Power crews would more than likely be sent to help neighboring states restore power, something the utility does almost anytime a hurricane strikes in the Southeast.
“We work a hurricane somewhere almost every year,” Hutchinson said. “The good part about that is that our crews are very well tested and have more experience in emergency restoration operations than other utilities across the country.”
EREC is also prepared to help electric cooperatives in neighboring states if there is little damage here.
“As a Touchstone Energy® cooperative, EREC is part of a vast network of member-owned electric co-ops committed to superior service. Assisting fellow cooperatives in times of need is an essential part of the Touchstone Energy® network,” Campbell said.
Gulf Power is able to detect most widespread outages during a storm and customers should wait a reasonable time before calling in an outage report. The number to call for reporting outages is 1-800-GU-POWER (487-6937).
EREC customers should call (8877) OUT-EREC (688-3732) to report a power outage.