8am Wednesday Mandatory Evacuations
“St. Johns County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for all residents and visitors in Evacuation Zone A (along coastal and river areas), Zone B and Zone F (south of State Road 206). The order takes effect at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, due to the imminent threat posed by Hurricane Milton. This order includes the entire City of St. Augustine, the City of St. Augustine Beach, and residents living on waterfront properties or in flood-prone areas. Residents living in boats, RVs, mobile homes, and low-lying flood-prone areas are also required to evacuate.”
At Tuesday’s news conference, the County Administrator, Sheriff, and Fire Chief seem to acknowledge many will not heed the evacuation order, and took to reminding those residents to stock up on food and water and to stay off the streets tomorrow to allow the mass evacuation to run smoothly. SJC Sheriff Robert Hardwick said bridges will remain open until sustained winds of 40mph force closures. He added that storm conditions also will dictate whether the county will need to impose a curfew Wednesday night.
Concurrent with Wednesday morning’s evacuation, the county will open 3 shelters: for the general population, one that is pet-friendly and one for people with special needs. Emergency medical evacuations got underway today at 2pm.
Pedro Menendez High School – General Population
Southwoods Elementary School – Pet Friendly Shelter
Freedom Crossing Academy – Special Medical Needs Shelter
Hurricane Milton continues a relentless path toward a destructive encounter with Florida’s west coast. Winds have reached catastrophic strength, 180 mph, and a slow speed of about 10 mph allows the storm time to pick up additional moisture from the warm Gulf to inundate the peninsula. NOAA warns the biggest threat to our area of Northeast Florida remains heavy rainfall, and when combined with already soggy ground, has the potential for “life threatening flash and urban flooding, especially in areas where coastal and inland flooding combine”.
All county offices will be closed until Friday.
