Local state of emergency in Nassau County as Hurricane Ian approaches

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday night to declare a local state of emergency for the county in preparation of Hurricane Ian.

Declaring a local state of emergency allows government officials quick access to resources to help manage a crisis until things return to normal. A state of emergency also helps government officials take extra measures to protect the public, trigger anti-price gouging laws, and most importantly, seek state or federal funding for disaster response and reimbursement of funds exhausted on things such as overtime costs and purchase of supplies and equipment needed to manage the emergency.

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While Hurricane Ian’s path is still uncertain, Nassau County is continuing to monitor the situation closely and officials are in frequent communication with the National Hurricane Center and local partners to ensure they are ready for any impacts that may come.

Shelters

No evacuation orders are in place and no shelters are open. If shelter openings are required, notifications will be sent via ALERTNassau, posted on onenassau.com and the county’s social media.

Sandbags

Nassau County Emergency Management will be offering sandbag pickups in preparation for Hurricane Ian’s impact on Northeast Florida.

The distributions will be at the following locations in Yulee and Hilliard:

• Yulee Road Dept. Yard - 86200 Gene Lasserre Blvd., Yulee, Fla., 32097
• Hilliard Road Dept. Yard - 37356 Pea Farm Road, Hilliard, Fla., 32046

Both sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until further notice.

Hundreds of prefilled bags are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the prefilled bags are gone, residents will need to fill their own bags.

Nassau County residents must provide proof of residency.