JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville city officials are preparing for the worst with the tropical storm Debby approaching and the possibility that it will land as a hurricane.
Several department heads laid out their preparedness plans at a special council meeting.
Officials say the city plans to open up three shelters at 5:00 pm Sunday to combat the coming storm.
“Those three shelters are Lavilla middle - the capacity 1792 General population. Landmark Middle has a capacity of 2200 for the general population, 20 Special medical needs, and is pet friendly. Legend Center has a capacity of 250. There’s 62 special medical needs and it’s also pet-friendly,” Director of the Emergency Preparedness Division Andre Ayoub said
Jacksonville Fire Chief Keith Powers said transportation will be in place for people living in areas known to flood.
“An example of that will be the Ken Knight area. we are working with our partners with the JEA to ensure those folks have a shelter and a bus ride to those shelters if transportation is needed to get them out of those areas that we know are going to flood,” Jacksonville Fire Chief Keith Powers said.
JEA said regardless of the impact, all 2,200-plus JEA team members are ready to mobilize and restore power and water.
They encourage customers to take the time to make sure their cell phone and email addresses are up to date on their JEA online account, as they may send texts and voice calls along with emails to customers in affected areas.
JEA said crews will work as quickly and safely as possible to restore services after the storm passes.
Officials warn people should stay away from flooded areas, downed power lines, and electrical equipment. They will have another meeting on Monday at 10:00.
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