Volusia County declares state of emergency, will open shelters as Hurricane Ian approaches

Volusia County announced a series of actions on Tuesday afternoon to prepare for Hurricane Ian, including declaring a local state of emergency, implementing a countywide curfew and preparing to open four shelters on Wednesday.

Local government officials made the announcements at the Emergency Operations Center in Daytona Beach shortly after 1 p.m., as Hurricane Ian continued to move toward the area.

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Meanwhile, some Flagler County residents may be ordered to evacuate on Wednesday morning, said Jonathan Lord, the county’s emergency management director during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Among other things, the emergency declaration gives the county more flexibility to spend money to prepare and respond to the hurricane, according to a news release.

“The storm track keeps moving. Sometimes it’s better. Sometimes it’s worse. Please use this time to get prepared,” Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower said. “Don’t get complacent because it looks like it might not be as dangerous as what you expected. We don’t know. …. Please prepare to stay in place for a few days after the storm.”

Volusia County emergency, power officials ready to respond

Jim Judge, interim director of emergency management, said the county Emergency Operations Center will go into full activation mode on Wednesday with law enforcement, public works, transportation crews, power companies and other officials ready to ride out the storm and respond.

County government offices will be closed to the public on Wednesday and Thursday.

County officials expect to see flooding, heavy rain and tropical storm and possibly hurricane-force winds in Volusia County, Judge said.

"We were all hoping that this (hurricane) season would pass us by, but we're not so lucky," Judge said.

Officials expected the storm to slow down significantly and bring heavy rain and winds to the area, Judge said.

Judge anticipates seeing sustained winds of 40-50 mph starting at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Rainfall could total 12 inches or more through Sunday, according to the county.

"All of east central Florida's under the gun for the wind and also for the rain," he said.

Volusia County shelters to open Wednesday

The county did not order mandatory evacuations. But the county announced that four shelters will open at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

While heading to a shelter is voluntary, Judge said it's an opportunity for people to move to a safer area if they feel the need, such as people in an RV, older mobile home or low-lying area.

Two will serve the general population: DeLand High School at 800 N. Hill Ave. in DeLand, and Mainland High School at 1255 W. International Speedway Blvd. in Daytona Beach.

Two shelters will serve people with special needs: Atlantic High School on Reed Canal Road in Port Orange, and Galaxy Middle School at 2400 Eustace Ave. in Deltona.

All shelters will accept pets, but people will need to bring their own pet supplies. And county officials are encouraging people to use shelters only as a last resort.

Judge said people who want to stay at a shelter should arrive early because conditions are expected to worsen on Wednesday. Storm conditions aren’t expected to abate until Friday morning, he said.

Sheriff Chitwood warns people to obey curfew

The County Council issued a curfew that will be in effect from 8 p.m. on Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday, and then from 8 p.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. on Friday in both incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.

The curfew doesn't apply to law enforcement, emergency workers and regular employees of local businesses, industries or government entities while traveling to and from their jobs.

People who violate the ordinance could get a fine of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail, he said.

The county and chair put the curfew in place to keep people safe and to give space to electric companies and first responders to do their jobs, Chitwood said.

"We don't need you out there at the height of the storm being a sightseer and snapping selfies," he said.

He also urged business owners to lock up their valuables because power outages cause alarm systems to go out.

Beaches, government offices to close

In addition to government offices being closed, all Volusia County library branches will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Also the Marine Science Center is closed until further notice, the Lyonia Environmental Center will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, the DeBary Hall Historic Site will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, SunRail service is suspended until further notice, Florida Department of Health locations will be closed Wednesday through Friday and all county courthouses will be closed Wednesday through Friday.

Tammy Malphurs, deputy chief of Volusia County beach safety and ocean rescue, said officials would close beaches to vehicle traffic until further notice. Red flags will be flying on beaches over the next few days to signify hazardous water conditions, she said.

Solid waste collection

People should also expect changes to solid waste schedules. Regular waste collection will begin at 5:30 a.m. and end by 5 p.m. Wednesday for unincorporated areas of Volusia County.

Waste collection normally scheduled for Thursday and Friday in unincorporated areas of Volusia County will be canceled, according to a news release. That means residents shouldn't place waste bins or yard trash at the curb on those days.

A tentative makeup day for waste and recycling collection is scheduled for Saturday if weather allows. The day will only be for residents who missed collection on Thursday and Friday. Yard trash won't be picked up on Saturday, and normal yard trash will resume next week.

City residents should check with their city's solid waste department for information about collection.

County officials are encouraging people to go to Volusia.org/pin for storm updates.

In Flagler County,  some residents may be ordered to evacuate on Wednesday morning, but the county is no longer looking at asking all residents east of Interstate 95 to evacuate.

Instead, Flagler County will likely issue an evacuation order for:

• All mobile homes and RVs

• Residents on the barrier island from Flagler Beach to Marineland

• Low-lying areas in Zone B, which is the Bulowville neighborhoods east of John Anderson Highway and the Palm Drive and Lambert Avenue neighborhoods 

• Non-elevated homes in the low-lying areas of Zone F, which is the area surrounding and near Crescent Lake and Dead Lake to include Daytona North.

Bunnell Elementary School would be the shelter for the general population and Rymfire Elementary School in Palm Coast would be for residents with medical or special needs.

Lord said that hurricanes carry an inherent risk of tornadoes.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Hurricane Ian: Daytona Beach to have curfew, shelters open