Update on Leon County's Recovery Activities Following Hurricane Michael for October 12

Update on Leon County’s Recovery Activities

Following Hurricane Michael for October 12

 

Following is an update on Hurricane Michael response and recover activities as of Friday morning, October 12, 2018.

Shelter Status:

We have consolidated all general population risk shelters to a single location at Sail High School.   As of this morning, approximately 80 citizens are still sheltered at Sail High School, and 100 citizens remain in the special needs shelter at Florida High School. We continue working to demobilize the Sail High School risk shelter and transition to host shelters as soon as power is restored to host shelter locations identified by the Red Cross. Our partners continue to provide meals and water to shelterees at Sail in the meantime. We are also coordinating with the Florida Department of Health to provide generator power to the Health Department facility on Orange Avenue, after which we will transition the special needs shelter from Florida High to that location.

Public Safety:

We have had no loss of life directly related to the storm.  Leon County EMS has responded to all calls for service and continues to operate with elevated staffing with call volume above normal levels. EMS is staffing 3 extra units during today’s shift, and 1 extra unit during tonight’s shift. EMS staff is also stationed at the special needs shelter 24/7 to assist with any medical needs that may arise.  EMS has responded to roughly 3x the usual call volume.

Road Clearing:

As previously reported, there are extensive downed trees blocking virtually all of our major roadways in the County. Public Works remains fully activated with 130 personnel working in Alpha and Bravo shifts to reopen blocked roads as late as it is safe to do so. Leon County Public Works has 15 crews in the field, supplemented by additional contracted crews who arrived yesterday and today. Additional contracted crews are arriving tomorrow to assist with cut and toss operations. At this time, crews continue working to clear major connector roads after which they will focus on clearing neighborhood roads. We continue to update the Emergency Information Portal (EIP; www.LeonCountyFL.gov/ei) with the most up to date information about the status of road closures and reopenings. 

Debris Collection:

We have activated our primary debris collection contractor who arrived this morning with resources to begin collecting residential debris, which will begin tomorrow morning (Saturday). Public Works staff met with the debris contractor this morning regarding debris collection zones and schedules.  Debris removal this weekend will focus on main corridors and schools (so that schools can reopen on Monday).  We will then proceed into neighborhoods and update our zone maps in the EIP accordingly.

Power Restoration as of 2 p.m.:

Immediately following the storm, City of Tallahassee Utilities and Talquin Electric both reported outages to more than of 90% of their customers in Leon County. Following are the latest reports of outages at this time:

• City of Tallahassee: 76,982 outages (62% out)
• Talquin Electric: 21,296 outages (86% out)
• Duke Energy: 65 outages (100% out)

Both utilities incurred significant damage to all components of their electric grid (transmission lines, substations, and distribution circuits) from the storm and are working to repair all systems as quickly as possible with extensive support from mutual aid agencies. The City has announced a goal to restore 90% of its customers by the end of this weekend.

89% of all traffic signals are in normal operation including all critical intersections, and the City is working to have all traffic signals in service by today.

Points of Distribution:

We have put in mission requests with the State and are receiving Florida National Guard resources to set up points of distribution, which will be extensive. Each site will have abundant water, MREs, and tarps and will be capable of serving 10,000 citizens per day.  However, at this time each location is distributing only water as we await the arrival of all of the Florida National Guard resources which is expected this afternoon.  The water is going quickly at these distribution points, but at this time we expect to have enough to meet the demand until the National Guard arrives.  A special thanks to Second Harvest for stepping up and providing ample water supplies in the interim.  As expected, we are receiving many people from surrounding counties at the distribution points.  Leon County is managing and staffing these points of distribution, along with the Florida National Guard.  Again, we have received and have begun the distribution of bottled water; full operations with distribution of food and tarps will commence later today or tomorrow as these supplies arrive. 10 points of distribution are open throughout the county as follows:

The following 6 locations with the full National Guard complement:

• Braden Community Center – 16387 Blountstown Highway
• Woodville Park – 1492 J. Lewis Hall Sr. Lane
• Apalachee Regional Park – 7550 Apalachee Parkway
• Fire Station #4 – 2899 West Pensacola Street
• Fire Station #1 – 327 North Adams Street
• Fire Station #2 – 2805 Sharer Road

In addition, the County and City are staffing 4 other points of distribution to ensure broad geographic distribution and accessibility. The following County and City operated sites are open from 9 AM to 5 PM:

• Fred George Park – 4830 Fred George Road
• Miccosukee (Concord School) – 15011 Cromartie Road
• Fire Station #3 – 3005 South Monroe Street
• Fire Station #15 – 1445 Bannerman

We will continue assessing demand at each of these sites throughout the day to determine scheduling for distribution center operations over the weekend.

Comfort Station:

The County opened the Main Library as a comfort station that will operate from 9 AM to 7 PM on Friday, October 12 through Sunday, October 14. The comfort station will provide air conditioning, snacks, water, a place to charge mobile devices, and computer access. We have also established a Community Recovery Center at the comfort station for local community partners to assist citizens through the recovery process, and a representative from 2-1-1 Big Bend will also be on site to assist citizens in person. We are welcoming all visitors to the comfort station regardless of whether they have a library card or are a Leon County resident.   As of this morning, we have received hundreds of people at the Main Library, distributed an enormous amount of food and water already, people are generally in good spirits and highly appreciative of the County’s efforts. 

The City has also opened a comfort station at Trousdell Aquatics Center which will be open from 9 AM to 9 PM each day, and additional comfort stations will be opened as power is available at:

• Jack McLean Community Center – 700 Paul Russell Road
• Jake Gaither Community Center – 801 Bragg Drive
• Walker Ford Community Center – 2301 Pasco Street
• Lafayette Park Community Center – 501 Ingleside Drive
• Lawrence Gregory Community Center – 1115 Dade Street
• Tallahassee Senior Center – 1400 N. Monroe Street

 

Damage Assessments:

We have mobilized 21 County/City teams this morning to begin the Individual Damage Assessment process for FEMA reimbursement purposes. We have posted a reporting tool on the EIP for citizens to self-report damage to their properties and our public information efforts are directing citizens to this resource.  As a reminder, these teams are made up of County employees, City employees and Property Appraiser employees. To self-report, visit: http://tlcgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/GeoForm/index.html?appid=6f338e584b9349fb889e77c8fe10b0b3

 

Business Status:

OEV staff remains in the EOC, actively working with local and statewide businesses to coordinate and share information.  We have developed a reporting tool, posted to the Office of Economic Vitality website and linked through from our EIP, for citizens to view and report the status of retail suppliers and gas stations throughout the County. Businesses continue to quickly reopen; at this time, several big box and small retail stores, grocers, home improvement centers, pharmacies, restaurants, and gas stations have reopened. To view this report, visit: http://oevforbusiness.org/BusinessStatus/.

Cellular Service:

At this time, we are aware that at least two cell towers in the county are currently non-functional. The State EOC is coordinating with cellular providers to restore service to areas affected by outages as quickly as possible, which are most extensive in the northeast portion of the county. Our staff in the EOC continues to actively coordinate with the State EOC as well as our telecommunications and mobile providers to learn more about the extent of the outages, find any available solutions to help restore temporary service, and determine providers’ anticipated timelines for full service restoration.

County Facilities:

Facilities staff conducted checks of all County facilities yesterday and reported no damage. Most County facilities remain without power at this time. Accordingly, County offices remain closed today and will re-open on Monday, October 15 with the exception of the Main Library which will remain open as a comfort station and the branch libraries which will re-open during normal hours beginning on Saturday (subject to power restoration).

Solid Waste:

As Leon County residents continue to clean up their properties following Hurricane Michael, Leon County has extended the free-of-charge period for both the Solid Waste Management Facility and the Rural Waste Service Centers. The facilities will be open during their normal hours starting Saturday, Oct. 13 and remain free of charge until Sunday, October 21. Hours of operation will be as follows:

• The Solid Waste Management Facility (7550 Apalachee Parkway) will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM
• The Rural Waste Service Centers will be open Fridays from 9 AM to 6 PM, and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 AM to 5 PM at the following locations: 
  • Woodville, 549 Henry Jones Road
  • Fort Braden, 2485 East Joe Thomas Road
  • Miccosukee, 13051 Miccosukee Road

Also, Leon County and the City of Tallahassee are resuming residential and commercial garbage collection services today. Following is the updated schedule for solid waste collection: 

• Wednesday customers will be collected on Friday, October 12
• Thursday customers will be collected on Saturday, October 13
• Friday customers will be collected on Sunday, October 14
• Starting Monday, October 15, all customers will receive service during their regularly scheduled service

Permit Fee Waiver:

To help the community rebuild after Hurricane Michael, Leon County will waive building permit fees for storm-related repairs. Citizens and contractors may begin storm related repairs immediately and apply for the necessary permits afterwards and removal of storm-damaged trees. Starting Tuesday, October 16, those interested in the waiver should contact Leon County Development Support and Environmental Management at (850) 606-1300 / www.LeonPermits.org. To be eligible for the waiver, the person performing the work must be the homeowner or a licensed contractor.

EOC Status:

Our EOC remains fully activated around the clock to ensure the coordinated completion of our immediate response and recovery operations. Our personnel both in the EOC and in the field are fully committed and dedicated to ensuring a complete and thorough response.