Emergency management agencies in counties across Northeast Florida are tracking the tropics.
They are in the preparedness phase. It’s important to remember it is too soon to know exactly where Tropical Depression 9 is going, but emergency management officials want people to be prepared just in case.
If a storm brings strong winds and heavy rain, each county will have vulnerable areas in its communities.
TRACKING THE TROPICS: Here’s what The Weather Authority is watching | DOWNLOAD: The Weather Authority’s 2022 Hurricane Survival Guide
“Those vulnerable areas along the beaches, maybe in the Intracoastal Waterway, the city of St. Augustine, along the St. Johns River and Hastings,” said St. Johns County Emergency Management Deputy Director Kelly Wilson.
Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said his team was already anticipating higher tides along the coast of Flagler and Beverly beaches and the Hammock area. There is a concern with the chance for more rain and wind.
“If the intercoastal is already high, that water is just going to add to that potential for that flooding that would’ve happened anyway,” Lord said.
Clay County Emergency Management Director John Ward’s team is already having meetings and working behind the scenes just in case there is a potential activation this weekend. News4JAX asked Ward where the biggest area of concerns would be.
“A big concern I have right now would be the strong winds,” Ward said. “We’ve obviously have been so saturated over the past few weeks, and our ground is saturated, so we start getting some significant winds, we are going to start seeing some trees, powerlines, things like that tip over.”
Black Creek basins are low, but it will depend on how much rain they get depending on this system’s location in relation to the area. So far, there is no concern for the Black Creek basins flooding unless they’re at 15 to 16 feet.
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Duval and Nassau counties are not commenting until weather projections show a higher chance for the storm to have an impact on Northeast Florida.
As all of the counties monitor Tropical Depression 9 and the other weather systems in the tropics, emergency management officials say don’t delay getting prepared. This weekend will be nice and may give people a false impression, but the officials say this is a good weekend to prepare for a possible storm.
No matter which county you live in, this is a good time to check your hurricane preparedness kit and make sure you have everything you need.