Severe Weather Update #9

Published Feb 24, 2016

Severe Weather Update

All Escambia County offices will resume normal operations tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb.24)
The Escambia County Health Department will resume normal operations tomorrow
School will be in session on Wednesday for all Escambia County Schools
The University of West Florida will resume normal operations at 8 a.m. tomorrow
The Citizen Information Center is closed and will reopen at 7 a.m. tomorrow

Road Closures

FHP closing I-10 from mile marker 17 to mile marker 43 due to a possible tornado. Stay home and off the roads.
Road closures for site security and public safety:
- Old Spanish Trail at Olive Road
- Harbor Square at Olive Road
- Squire at Olive Road
- Holgate at Olive Road
- Northpointe at Olive Road
- Scenic at Olive Road
- Northpointe and Lavorde
- Olive Road and 9^th Avenue
Roads will open when power lines and debris are cleared. Residents will get priority access to the area.

Damage Information

9th and Olive: Several reports of damage; crews on scene
Multiple trees down: Scenic Hwy to Highway 90. Please stay out of the area.
Traffic on I-10 is stopped both ways in Santa Rosa County due to a traffic accident in the eastbound lane
Moorings Apartments
- 3 buildings with heavy damage
- Crews on scene performing search and rescue as needed
- Reports of Yacht Harbor Subdivision damage
- Units were on scene within five minutes of the first call
- Preliminary estimates are that 24 units are destroyed and approximately 6 have minor damage
- All residents have been evacuated, however search and rescue operations continue on site
- Updated reports show no reported injuries to date from the Moorings
Preliminary path estimate is 2 miles long from Northpointe Boulevard to Scenic Highway

Essential Information

The Escambia County Citizen Information Center is open for questions from residents at (850) 471-6600.
Any road closures will be announced as they occur.

Storm Information as Forecasted by the National Weather Service

Shelters

The American Red Cross has opened a shelter at Cokesbury United Methodist Church (3300 Summit Boulevard)
- Buses are transporting residents from the Moorings Apartment
The American Red Cross has opened an evacuation shelter at the Pensacola State College Century Center located at 440 E. Hecker Road in Century for residents who do not feel safe in their homes. Shelters are opened to ensure your safety. Please remember shelters can be crowded and uncomfortable.
- There are currently 15 citizens at the Red Cross Shelter in Century
The Salvation Army Headquarters (1310 North S Street) is available as a shelter as necessary.
If you go to a public evacuation shelter, you will need to take the following items:
- Personal identification and any important papers.
- A change of clothing, rain gear and sturdy shoes.
- Toiletries and personal items.
- Blankets or sleeping bags.
- Games or toys for children; books for adults.
- Special items for infants or elderly family members.
- Any special dietary needs and nonperishable foods for snacks.
- Battery operated radio, flashlights and plenty of spare batteries.
- Prescription medications or any over-the-counter medications you normally take.
- Those with special needs must come with their own caregiver.

Military Installations

Pensacola NAS, Saufley Field and Corry Field closed at 4 p.m. to all but mission-critical personnel

Escambia County Board of County Commission Actions

All Escambia County Board of County Commissioner offices closed at 3 p.m.
All BOCC related evening meetings are cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later date.
Local state of emergency is enacted until Monday, Feb. 29.
Public works crews and the Escambia County Sherriff’s Office are on standby to respond as needed.

Other Closures

All offices of the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
All Escambia County Property Appraiser offices
All Escambia County Supervisor of Elections offices
All Tax Collector offices
All West Florida Public Library locations (bookmobile included)
The MC Blanchard Judicial Center and Juvenile Justice Center
City Hall and all City of Pensacola administrative offices
All Pensacola State College classes, events, campus activities, online classes, evening classes and the PSC Board of Trustees meeting were cancelled as of 4 p.m.
All UWF classes, events, campus activities and online courses were cancelled as of 4 p.m.
ECUA offices closed at 4 p.m. They will reopen at normal business hours tomorrow morning. Customer service will be open at 8 a.m.
Fort Pickens is closed until further notice.

Escambia County School District

All after school extra-curricular activities (indoor and outdoor) have been canceled
All George Stone Technical Center classes are canceled and will close at 5 p.m.
Dismissal for all elementary, middle, and high schools will occur at the regular times

ECAT Service

ECAT and Community Transportation will continue to offer service unless the weather intensifies to a point that it is no longer considered safe. Announcements regarding service will be made when available.

Power Outages

Please do not call 9-1-1 to report power outages. Power outages should be reported to Gulf Power at 1-800-GU-Power (1-800-487-6937) or Escambia River Cooperative, Inc. at 1-877-688-3732.
An outage map is available at www.MyGulfPower.com
Never touch a fallen power line and assume all wires on the ground are electrically charged.
Escambia River Electric Cooperative is not experiencing any outages as a result of this evening's storms.

General Safety

For more information, visit www.MyEscambia.com or follow us on twitter @MyEscambia
Please monitor your home weather radio and local media outlets for the most up-to-date information.
Your best defense in any disaster is a NOAA Weather radio.
In times of an emergency, the Escambia County Division of Emergency Management can notify participating residents via text message, email or phone call. When signing up for Alert Escambia, residents can choose their preferred method of notification. Sign up here.

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