Latest Local Escambia County Update On Hurricane Irma

September 10, 2017

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Here is the latest Escambia County information on Hurricane Irma:

New Information is Highlighted

Current Situation

  • There ARE NO evacuations ordered for Escambia County residents, no matter the location.
  • Escambia County Emergency Operation Center is at a level 3, or monitoring level. We will continue to closely monitor the situation to provide our residents with the most up-to-date hurricane information.
  • No bridge closures are anticipated due to wind, BUT we will monitor wind speeds to ensure safety. Escambia County works with law enforcement to close bridges for safety at sustained (not gusts) wind speeds typically of 39 MPH or greater. The current forecast does not show sustained winds of that speed.
  • The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated to level 1, which is a full-scale, 24-hours-a-day activation. DEM estimates that 6.5 million Floridians have been ordered to evacuate.

Weather Update from the National Weather Service Mobile

According to the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama, Irma is forecast to remain a major hurricane through the weekend. The LOCAL impacts include:

  • Wind – 20 to 30 mph this afternoon and tonight, becoming 25 to 35 mph with gusts as high as 40 mph on Monday
  • Flash Flooding – none
  • Surge – none
  • Tornadoes – none
  • Local Rain Totals for Escambia County – less than 1 inch

Host Shelters

  • As requested by the state, Escambia County and the American Red Cross are opened a shelter at the Pensacola Bay Center located at 201 E. Gregory St. at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8. The shelter is for south Florida evacuees. There are currently NO EVACUATIONS ordered for Escambia County.
    • General shelter population:168
    • Special needs shelter population:4
    • Animal shelter population: 44
  • The Escambia County Equestrian Center is being open as a host shelter for evacuees’ horses. Stalls and RV sites are available at a first come, first served basis. The stall fees have been waived. For more information, visit https://myescambia.com/our-services/parks-and-recreation/equestrian-center/equestrian-center-as-a-storm-shelter.
    • Horse population: 80
  • Additional shelters will be opened as needed and directed by the state of Florida.
  • Visit floridadisaster.org/shelters/summary.aspx to find information on shelters in your area. This site is being updated as shelters open throughout the day.
  • FEMA is also hosting shelter information on its mobile app which can be found at fema.gov/mobile-app.

Bob Sikes Bridge Tolls

  • Tolls on the Bob Sikes toll plaza will be reinstated at 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11.
  • FDOT tolls have not yet be reinstated by the state.

Volunteering & Donations

  • Florida needs 1,000 volunteer nurses to help at our special needs shelters. Nurses who can volunteer can email BPRCHDPreparedness@FLHealth.gov Nurses can also email HelpFL@FLhealth.gov.
  • Volunteer Florida is coordinating with volunteer organizations across the state and has partnered with the American Red Cross to provide shelter operations training to volunteers and AmeriCorps grantees. Floridians who would like to volunteer can register at http://redcross.org/volunteer
  • Gov. Rick Scott activated the Florida Disaster Fund to support individuals who are impacted by Hurricane Irma. The Florida Disaster Fund helps provide financial support to Florida’s communities in times of disaster. To make a contribution, please visit www.FloridaDisasterFund.org or text DISASTER to 20222 to make a one-time donation of $10.
  • Please do not donate unsolicited goods such as new or used clothing, miscellaneous household items, medicine, or perishable food at this time. When used personal items are donated, the helping agencies must redirect their staff away from providing direct services to survivors in order to sort, package, transport, warehouse, and distribute items that may not meet the needs of disaster survivors. Cash donations offer voluntary agencies and faith-based organizations the most flexibility to address urgently developing needs.

NAS Pensacola

  • NAS Pensacola  will close to non-essential personnel form 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10 until further notice. All military, civilian and contract personnel should contact their supervisors for instructions.
  • All public attractions, e.g., National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola Lighthouse, etc., will be closed, however Barrancas National Cemetery will be open during normal visitation hours.

Residential Garbage Service

  • There are currently no changes in the city of Pensacola or ECUA residential pickup schedules.

Schools

  • Gov. Rick Scott is directing all public K-12 schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices to close Monday, Sept. 11.
  • All University of West Florida locations are closed and classes are canceled Monday, Sept. 11. On-campus housing continues to operate as usual. The Health, Leisure and Sports Facility hours are 12 to 6 p.m. and the Aquatic Center hours are 1 to 6 p.m. through Monday, Sept. 11. All other services, activities and events, including all home athletic events, are cancelled.
  • Pensacola Christian Academy plans to be open for regular classes and events on Monday, September 11. Pensacola Christian College also will be open for regular classes and events on Monday, September 11.

City, County & State Offices

  • All city of Pensacola offices are open Monday, Sept. 11.
  • All Escambia County offices are open Monday, Sept. 11.
  • Governor Rick Scott has directed all state offices in all 67 Florida counties to close Monday, Sept. 11


Court System

  • All courts in Escambia County, Okaloosa County, and  Santa Rosa County shall remain open Monday, September 11, 2017.
  • For news and announcements concerning the courts of the First Judicial Circuit, you may visit www.FirstJudicialCircuit.org or follow on Twitter.

VA Joint Ambulatory Care Center in Pensacola

  • The Pensacola, Eglin and Panama City Beach VA clinics will be closed Monday, Sept. 11.
  • Affected VA staff at those three clinics will be in Authorized Absence status, for Monday, Sept. 11.
  • Currently, Tuesday, Sept. 12 will be a normal work day and employees should report as scheduled.

Florida Department of Health – Escambia

  • All FDOH-Escambia clinics, including WIC and Immunizations clinics, and all other services provided by FDOH-Escambia, will be suspended on Friday, September 8, 2017 and on Monday, September 11, 2017. Clients with appointments scheduled for these dates, may call 850-595-6500 on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, to reschedule their appointment.
  • ProMed Dental services at FDOH-Escambia’s Northside and Molino Service Centers will be suspended on Friday September 8, 2017 and on Monday, September 11, 2017. Patients who have dental appointments with ProMed Dental may call 850-912-8923 or 850-471-6983 for rescheduling.
  • Escambia Community Clinics pediatric and dental services at FDOH-Escambia’s Fairfield Drive Service Center will have normal operations. Patients who have dental or pediatric clinic appointments with ECC will still be able to receive their scheduled services.

Pensacola International Airport

  • While many southern and eastern Florida airports are closed, Pensacola International Airport is currently open and will remain open as long as Hurricane Irma does not severely impact our area.
  • Passengers with scheduled travel to impacted areas are strongly encouraged to monitor the status of their flight by frequently visiting their airline’s website.

Comments

One Response to “Latest Local Escambia County Update On Hurricane Irma”

  1. Thanks on September 10th, 2017 6:33 pm

    Thank you for all the helpful information !

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News