ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – St. Johns County Emergency Management says it will be in contact with the National Weather Service throughout the week regarding any potential impacts from Eta.
According to a news release from the county, the tropical storm was expected to arrive as a tropical depression on Thursday. County officials said the impact from the storm could include rain and wind.
The county’s Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, and all Seventh Judicial Circuit Court operations were to be suspended Thursday.
The City of St. Augustine said Wednesday that crews were checking storm drains and will be monitoring flood prone areas including the bayfront and South Davis Shores.
County-by-county: Northeast Florida preps for impact as Eta weakens to tropical storm
“What’s going to happen is going to happen,” said Tim Miscovich, who lives in the Davis Shores community. “If it gets really bad, we’ll add more sandbags and stack higher, but it’s kind of out of my hands.”
Miscovich has kept sandbags on his front doorstep for roughly a month-and-a-half because of flooding. During a recent king tide, which is an exceptionally high tide, he said he didn’t get water inside his house but had flooding on all four sides.
Near the historic downtown St. Augustine, Shaun Navin told News4Jax he planned to double up the lines on his sailboat and wait out the storm at the dock.
“I’m mentally preparing at this point but I’m not doing anything yet,” explained Navin. “We’re going to wait until it gets closer and if it does amount to more than we’re expecting right now, I’ll strip the canvas off my boat and prepare everything, make sure everything is strapped down and ready to go.”
St. Johns County emergency officials offered a reminder for residents to know their evacuation routes and zones, have supply kits and prepare homes for any impact.