By Susan Hardee Steger
September 9, 2017 4:05 p.m.
Billy Estep, emergency management director, along with Sheriff Bill Leeper, Chief James Hurley, State Senator Aaron Bean, and Congressman John Rutherford, held a news conference this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. to update the community on information regarding Hurricane Irma.
At this time, some modeling calls for up to 20 inches of rain in some areas of our county. 3 – 5 feet of storm surge is expected. These figures could be increased or decreased within the next 24 hours to 48 hours. Nassau County is now under a hurricane warning.
A number of weather events could impact our area. Coastal flooding, wind, storm surge, and possible tornadoes as a result of Hurricane Irma. The current northeaster adds an additional impact on our area.
Mandatory evacuations continue. Individuals in manufactured homes throughout the county are under the evacuation notice.
There are currently 216 individuals who have entered emergency shelters throughout the county. Estep was surprised there are as many people in the shelters, “this far in advanced of the storm.”
Regarding emergency services, Estep said Baptist Nassau is closed. ”
It was announced bridges will be closed when sustained winds reach 40 mph. Law enforcement will monitor the situation. There could be periodic opening and closing of the bridges this evening. In the event bridges encounter storm surge into the intra-coastal waterway, Emergency Management must coordinate with DOT to inspect
the bridges for structural damage which could delay openings.
Sheriff Leeper said emergency personnel will continue to stay focused to make sure citizens are as safe as possible. Officers are along AIA to make sure traffic is running smoothly.
Rutherford announced the house emergency appropriations bill on Thursday is a first installment to increase FEMA funding to 15.5 billion*. 450 M his being appropriate as a disaster relief fund (CBDG) for Texas, Louisiana, and soon Florida.
Senator Bean cautioned citizens to be vigilant because of the uncertainty of the storm’s path. He thanked emergency personnel for their efforts to keep citizens safe.
Editor’s Note: This report was taken from a Facebook streaming site. Congressman Rutherford made a state about FEMA funding. A reader noted the recently approved increase was billion and not million. Although I still hear the figure as million, a Google search confirmed the reader’s correction. We changed the previous figure to billions. Thank you reader!