Black Creek expected to enter major flood stage

Clay County Emergency Management is concerned people aren’t taking the evacuation order seriously.

“We have not seen a lot of movement, and we fear a lot of that has to do with complacency,” says Emergency Management Director John Ward.

Ward says they haven’t seen a lot of people coming to their shelters, but it’s unclear if that’s because they’re not evacuating or they made other plans. He says especially people living along Black Creek need to realize just how dangerous the conditions could get.

EVACUATIONS: Clay orders mandatory evacuation for some areas

SHELTER INFORMATION: Where to shelter in Clay County

“The Nor’easter that sat over us, it gave us some rain. It’s pushing the water up the River in to the creeks, and we’re expecting to get upwards of 10 to 15 inches of rain over our North and South prong basins,” Ward says.

He says they’re expecting both prongs to reach major flood stage by Tuesday night.

“We need to monitor this very closely. North Prong could do in to 21+ feet, and South Prong 20+ feet,” he says.

Another concern is debris- unlike the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, where there were areas of debris, Ward says they’re expecting county-wide damage. He says they also want you to be prepared for extended outages.

“Good old fashioned common sense should prevail. Don’t get too rattled, focus on your own safety. Let’s put our petty differences aside and think about the safety and security of those folks who live around us- our neighbors, our friends, our family. And don’t do anything that’s going to put you or anyone else in harms way. Be mindful of the fact that those areas that are prone to flood are going to flood. Things that are typically unsafe, they’re going to be unsafe,” says Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels.

He says law enforcement will do the best they can to respond to emergencies through the storm, but he’s calling on your to make sure you don’t put yourself in a position that endangers you or law enforcement.