As Hurricane Idalia approaches the coastline in northwest Florida as a major hurricane, the storm will bring sustained winds of about 40 mph to Orange County, with gusts up to about 55 mph, Demings said, citing a briefing from the National Weather Service.
Counties north and west of Orange are expected to see more severe winds.
“That means here within Orange County, we’ll likely experience tropical-force winds for 12 hours or so, beginning about midnight tonight until about midday tomorrow,” he said.
The county could see about 5 inches of rain from the storm, but unlike slow-moving Hurricane Ian last year, Idalia figures to deal most of its damage with winds, the mayor said.
Non-essential county offices are closed Wednesday, and garbage pickup is suspended as well, likely to resume Thursday. The same is true in Orlando, where Wednesday trash and recycle pickup is rescheduled for Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Orlando International Airport remains open and operational as officials monitor the storm.
The region also has ample hotel rooms for coastal residents fleeing the storm, he said.
Orange is now included in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ emergency declaration, and Demings also issued a local state of emergency.
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, attended Tuesday’s news conference and urged residents to prepare now for Idalia.
“We want everyone to know, please take today to continue to prepare for the storm. Go to the store, get the supplies that you need, fill up your tank of gas, go home, and then stay home,” Frost said. “So that way, other folks who are out can ensure that they can prepare as well.”
County fire rescue teams canvassed about 6,000 mobile home and manufactured housing units distributing flyers, and encouraging people to leave if their unit isn’t safe to stay in.
Four shelters opened at about 1 p.m. for people who want to voluntarily evacuate.
The Silver Star Recreation Center, 2801 N. Apopka Vineland Road, and the Goldenrod Recreation Center, 4863 N. Goldenrod Road, are open for residents with special needs.
The Barnett Park Recreation Center, 4801 West Colonial Drive, and the South Econ Recreation Center, 3850 South Econlockhatchee Trail\, are open for all residents.
All four shelters are pet-friendly.
Osceola County urges residents to finalize preparations
Commission Chairwoman Viviana Janer and other Osceola County officials urged residents to finalize preparations ahead of the hurricane but believe the county will not suffer severe impacts from Idalia at a press conference Tuesday.
“Osceola is not in the direct path of the storm,” Janer said. “Now is the time for everybody to go ahead and finalize their plans so that we’re all in a safe location this evening.”
Locally, Janer said residents can expect 2 to 4 inches of rain and sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph starting Tuesday evening into Wednesday.
“There’s an increasing confidence that the storm will not have a great impact on our county,” Janer said. “It’s important to remember, though, that we should weather the storm safely.”
The joint effort between the county and the city of Kissimmee and St. Cloud to distribute sandbags at Osceola Heritage Park will end Tuesday at 4 p.m.
So far 35,000 sandbags have been distributed at the site, Janer said.
No shelters are planned to open but are on standby if needed, Janer said.
St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell said the city is ready and able to handle the rain.
“For those of you who may live in areas that experienced flooding in the past, we have pumps that are ready to be deployed if needed,” Blackwell said. “We hope that that will not be necessary but we are ready.”
Osceola County Sheriff Marcos R. López said the department has learned from last year and acquired two high-water rescue vehicles.
“They are 5-ton type vehicles that the national guard uses and we have two of them,” López said. “They’re ready to go just in case we do have any flooding type of issues in the area.”
Seminole County suspends schools, watching storm
Although Hurricane Idalia is not forecast to make a direct hit in Seminole County, residents should be prepared for strong tropical-force winds to move through the area late Tuesday and throughout the day Wednesday, county emergency officials said.
“There is the potential for possible tornadoes, so we’re monitoring that very closely,” said Alan Harris, Seminole’s director of emergency management.
All Seminole County public schools, extracurricular activities and sporting events will be suspended beginning Wednesday, Superintendent Serita Beamon said.
“We will provide a morning and an afternoon update [Wednesday] to share information with our families, staff and students about when we can expect to resume school and extracurricular activities,” Beamon said. “Once the storm has passed, we will assess our facilities and make sure that they are clear and safe for students to return.”
Seminole does not anticipate opening any emergency shelters. However, Harris noted that the county does have three school sites on standby that officials can quickly open if the storm becomes much worse in the area.
“In the unlikely event that we experience a major power outage in our community,” he said. “Or we experience some type of tornadoes.”
Seminole government office operations that handle transactions with the public — such as tag renewals, building permits, or applications — will also be closed on Wednesday.
Seminole Commission Chair Amy Lockhart said that residents should prepare for the worst, even though the anticipated impacts from Idalia may end up being not much different than a strong afternoon thunderstorm.
“A little wobble [in the storm’s forecast path] can make a big difference,” she said. “A hurricane of this magnitude cannot be taken lightly.”
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