Storm Updates:
-
Jacksonville remains under a Hurricane Warning. Tropical Storm and Hurricane conditions continue.
-
Major Storm Surge Flooding with significant damage continues throughout the city. The Mayport tide gauge was at 5.22 ft. at 4 p.m. and is gradually rising toward the flooding category.
-
There is a chance for isolated waterspouts and tornadoes with this storm.
-
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect with storm surges expected to be 7-9 ft. above ground level at the ocean front with battering breakers between 10-15 ft. at the beach and 1-3 ft. waves in the St. Johns Basin. Water levels continue to rise with storm surges, with highest levels expected throughout the evening.
-
Storm surges of 6-9 ft. are predicted along the Intracoastal and the northern St. Johns River, and up to 3 ft. in Downtown Jacksonville, Ortega, and Julington Creek.
-
Expected rainfall is 6-10 inches along the coast and 4-6 inches inland.
-
Elevated water levels will remain within the St. Johns basin for about one week.
-
The area is also under a flood watch through Saturday.
-
The St. Johns River will continue to oscillate after the storm passes causing continuing flooding issues.
-
Catastrophic storm surge and destructive wind patterns pose a significant threat to life and property.
-
President Barack Obama has declared a pre-landfall emergency.
-
Duval County remains under a State of Emergency.
Avoiding Health Risks:
With residents currently dealing with flooding and widespread power outages, the Florida Department of Health in Duval County (DOH-Duval) is recommending precautions to help protect individuals and families from the health hazards related to flood waters. Although skin contact with flood waters does not, by itself, pose a serious health risk, health hazards are a concern when waters become contaminated. Flood waters may contain fecal material with associated bacteria and viruses.
The following precautions are recommended to prevent possible illness from flood waters:
-
Basic hygiene is critical. Wash your hands with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected before preparing or eating food, after using the toilet, after participating in flood cleanup activities, and after handling articles contaminated with flood water or sewage.
-
Avoid eating or drinking anything that has been contaminated with flood waters.
-
Do not wade through standing water. If you do, bathe and put on clean clothes as soon as possible.
-
Avoid contact with flood waters if you have open cuts or sores. If you cannot avoid contact with flood waters, keep any cuts and sores as clean as possible by washing well with soap to control infection. If a wound develops redness, swelling, or drainage, seek immediate medical attention. Residents who sustain lacerations and/or puncture wounds and have not had a tetanus vaccination within the past 10 years require a tetanus booster.
If your plumbing is functioning slowly or sluggishly, you should:
-
Conserve water as much as possible; the less water used, the less sewage the septic tank must process or a sewer line needs to handle. Minimize use of your washing machine. Go to a laundromat. Rental of a portable toilet for a temporary period may be another option.
-
Do not have the septic tank pumped. Exceptionally high water tables might crush a septic tank that was pumped dry. If the fundamental problem is high ground water, pumping the tank does nothing to solve that problem.
-
If you cannot use your plumbing without creating a sanitary nuisance (i.e. without sewage being exposed), consider moving to a new location until conditions improve.
-
Do not have the septic tank and drain field repaired until the ground has dried. Often systems are completely functional when dry conditions return. Any repair must be permitted and inspected by your county health department.
Carbon Monoxide
Due to electric utility outages, some citizens may turn to gas-powered appliances and charcoal or gas grills for power. However, these devices can increase the risk of exposure to carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a highly poisonous, invisible, odorless, tasteless gas and is highly poisonous. Depending on the level of exposure, CO may cause fatigue, weakness, chest pains for those with heart disease, shortness of breath upon exertion, nausea, vomiting, headaches, confusion, lack of coordination, impaired vision, loss of consciousness, and in severe cases, death.
DOH-Duval recommends the following precautions to help citizens prevent carbon monoxide poisoning:
-
Do not burn charcoal or gas grills inside a house, garage, vehicle, tent or fireplace.
-
NEVER use a generator indoors, including in homes, garages, basements, crawl spaces, and other enclosed or partially enclosed areas, even with ventilation. Opening doors and windows or using fans will not prevent CO build-up in the home.
-
ALWAYS locate the unit outdoors on a dry surface, away from doors, windows, vents, and air conditioning equipment that could allow CO to come indoors. Follow the instructions that come with your generator.
-
Install battery-operated CO alarms or plug-in CO alarms with battery back-up in your home, according to the manufacturer’s installation instructions. The CO alarms should be certified to the requirements of the latest safety standards for CO alarms (UL 2034, IAS 6-96, or CSA 6.19.01).
-
Test your CO alarms frequently and replace dead batteries.
-
REMEMBER: you cannot see or smell CO and portable generators can produce high levels of CO very quickly.
-
If you start to feel sick, dizzy, or weak while using a generator, get to fresh air RIGHT AWAY. DO NOT DELAY.
-
If you have a poisoning emergency, call your nearest Florida Poison Information Center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call 911 immediately.
For more information, please contact DOH-Duval or visit
The Florida Department of Health or
The Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Bridge Closures:
-
Wonderwood Bridge
-
Atlantic Boulevard Intercoastal Waterway Bridge
-
Beach Boulevard Intercoastal Waterway Bridge
-
JTB Intercoastal Waterway Bridge
-
Dames Point Bridge
Shelters:
-
Seven shelters are now open.
-
The Legends Center, Atlantic Coast High School, Twin Lakes Elementary School, Landmark Middle School are at capacity.
-
Shelters with availability include:
-
Chimney Lakes Elementary School (9353 Staples Mill Dr. – 32244; General population, pet friendly)
-
Mandarin Middle School (5100 Hood Rd. – 32257; Special needs, general population, pet friendly)
-
Oceanway Elementary School (12555 Gillespie Ave. – 32218; general population)
-
Those staying in shelters must bring their own food, water and bedding.
Rumor Control:
-
The Fuller Warren Bridge is open at this time. See bridge closures list above for current closures.
-
There are no sheltered animals in any evacuation zones. The Jacksonville Beach Animal Shelter evacuated to the City of Jacksonville’s shelter. The Jacksonville shelter has more than enough capacity to accommodate the animals. It is a state-of-the-art facility. All cages are indoors and animals are protected. The Jacksonville Humane Society has emptied their facility and sent all animals to foster care. CITIZENS SHOULD NOT DROP THEIR ANIMALS OFF AT ANIMAL CARE AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES. Animal shelters are not housing for personal pets.
-
There are no reports of looting in the Jacksonville Beach area. Police are continuing to patrol and monitor the area.
-
Jacksonville University is NOT mandating any evacuations from campus as JU residence halls are not currently in an evacuation zone.
-
630-CITY and JaxReady are operational. Please recognize that they are experiencing high volumes slowing operations. Encourage citizens to use the JaxReady app and 630-CITY website as call waiting times may exceed an hour.
Services:
-
JEA Updates
-
As of 5 p.m., JEA reports 155,000 customers are experiencing power outages throughout the city.
-
All JEA crews are currently in safe facilities to ride out the storm. Restoration work will resume with more than 800 employees as soon as it is safe for crews to be in the field.
-
If service it lost, water utility services will not be reinstated until staff is able to inspect systems, inspect any damage, make any necessary repairs, and provide a safe and healthy water supply to customers. Once services are reinstated, a boil water notice will remain in effect until the water supply is deemed safe.
-
Do not connect generators directly to home wiring. Generators can "backfeed" into the power lines attached to homes, which can increase voltage anywhere on the JEA system and seriously injure or kill a JEA lineman or your neighbor on the same line. For more information, go to https://www.jea.com/Outage_Center/Storm_Safety/Generator_Safety/
-
JEA’s Downtown Business Office is closed.
-
Customers can Text REG to MyJEA (69532) to register to notify JEA of an outage. They can also go to jea.com/alerts to sign up. With this, citizens experiencing outages can text OUT to MYJEA.
-
JEA expects widespread outages and customers should be prepared for multiple days without services.
-
Public Works
-
High winds have forced Public Works to suspend services until Saturday. To date they have addressed 47 stormwater related issues, 114 tree issues and 28 malfunctioning traffic signals. Citizens are reminded to treat malfunctioning traffic lights as 4-way stops.
-
Waste collections normally scheduled for Friday have been rescheduled for Sunday, Oct. 9.
-
There is no JTA bus service today.
-
Hospitals in evacuation zones (Baptist Beaches and Nassau) have evacuated patients to other hospital facilities. All other hospital emergency rooms are open to serve patients with critical needs.
-
People are encouraged go to VISIT FLORIDA’s site to get hotel availability. People can also use TripAdvisor, Expedia and other hotel booking engines to find hotel rooms.
-
JTA Updates
-
Hospitals:
-
Visit Jacksonville Update
-
USPS mail will not be delivered on Friday and Saturday.
-
JAX Airport update:
-
All arrivals and departures for Oct. 7 are cancelled.
-
Passengers should contact their airline – NOT the airport – for the most updated status of their flight.
-
Economy Lots 1 and 2 are closed until further notice. Other parking facilities will remain open until they reach capacity. Call the parking office at (904) 741.2277 for more information.
Traffic:
-
Traffic Updates (JSO)
-
Citizens are encouraged to stay where they are. Storm conditions are predicted to worsen.
-
Traffic Updates (FDOT)
-
There are five convenient ways to receive traffic updates:
-
Download the free Florida 511 mobile app available on Google Play or Apple App Store.
-
Call 511 toll free for updates in English and Spanish.
-
Visit FL511.com for interactive roadway maps showing traffic congestion and crashes, travel times and traffic camera views.
-
Sign up for a “My Florida 511” account at FL511.com to create custom routes and register for email, text or phone alerts.
-
Follow one of the 13 statewide, regional or roadway-specific Twitter feeds (#FL511).
-
Expect many major corridors to be flooded, including construction zones. Use extreme caution and heed local emergency information.
Military:
-
NAS Jacksonville has closed. Only essential personnel will have access to the base.
Other Updates:
Updates will be provided regularly via the City’s
website and social media
accounts.