OKEECHOBEE – Okeechobee County residents continued to prepare for Hurricane Milton on Tuesday. The major storm is expected to make landfall near Tampa around 1 a.m. Thursday.
Traffic on State Road 70 was busy as those fleeing the Gulf Coast used SR 70 as an evacuation route. The stop light at the intersection of Osceola Avenue (Fifth Avenue) and State Road 70 has been changed to a flashing yellow light to facilitate the traffic flow.
County Public Information Officer Denise Whitehead said deputies will be stationed at the major intersections to keep traffic flowing smoothly. She said they have generators available to keep the traffic lights on should the power go out due to the hurricane.
Whitehead advised everyone to complete hurricane preparations today. According to the National Hurricane Center, Okeechobee County will start experiencing hurricane force winds on Wednesday.
Florida National Guard troops arrived in Okeechobee County on Tuesday.
Shopping was brisk at area stores on Tuesday. Several stores ran out of bottled water on Monday but received shipments of water on Monday night or Tuesday morning.
As of noon Tuesday, bottled water was available at Publix, Winn Dixie and WaWa.
Home Depot received a shipment of plywood early Tuesday morning.
Some shoppers admitted they had previously shopped for supplies, but due to stress had already eaten their hurricane snacks. Since the storm slowed, they took the opportunity on Tuesday to stock up again.
United Way offers the following advice as Hurricane Milton approaches:
FEMA announced Monday that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Florida to supplement response efforts due to emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Milton beginning Oct. 5 and continuing.
The President’s action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population and to provide appropriate assistance to save lives, to protect property, public health and safety and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.
Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75% federal funding for Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Desoto, Dixie, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter and Volusia counties.
Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75% federal funding for Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Nassau, Suwannee, Taylor and Union counties.
John E. Brogan has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.
