Sept. 11 Hurricane Irma Update

New Information is Highlighted

Current Situation

• Weather - Impacts remain unchanged for the area. Expect breezy northeast to north winds of 25-30 mph with frequent higher gusts up to 40 mph. Those winds are similar to what we see in behind a strong cold front in the winter. The Wind Advisory remains for Northwest Florida until 7 p.m.. Winds out of the north means we should have NO SURGE issues along the coast. Bands of rain will continue to move across the area throughout the morning and afternoon.
• Escambia County Emergency Operations 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.
• The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated to level 1, which is a full-scale, 24-hours-a-day activation. 

Bridges

• NO bridges are closed due to wind and we don't anticipate any closures. 
• The Florida Department of Transportation District 3 Intelligent Transportation System found at www.d3sunguide.com is a great source for local traffic information, including cameras located on several bridges. 

Host Shelters

• Shelters in Walton, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties are being consolidated to the Escambia County/American Red Cross shelter located at the Pensacola Bay Center. This is in an effort to support those communities who use public and private schools as shelters, so they can prepare the schools to open as quickly as possible. 
• The current population at the host shelter located at the Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. is:
  • General shelter population: 227
  • Special needs shelter population: 10
  • Animal shelter population:53
• The Escambia County Equestrian Center is being open as a host shelter for evacuees’ horses. 
  • Horse population: 88 

• 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.      

• Volunteer Florida is coordinating with volunteer organizations across.Floridians who would like to volunteer can register at www.volunteerflorida.org/irma or 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.
• 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

• The Florida Emergency Information Line has been activated and is available 24/7 for families and visitors at 1-800-342-3557.
• Visit www.floridadisaster.org to find information on shelters, road closures, fuel, food, water and other recovery information.
• Visit fl511.com for a real-time traffic map with travel times, traffic accident details and traffic cameras. 
• We are just entering the height of hurricane season. Be ready for the next storm, learn what to do before, during and after a storm by downloading our latest disaster guide at myescambia.com.
• Escambia County also has several tools available for our residents so they can be informed before, during and after a disaster. Learn more here.