GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Crews in Alachua County are hard at work cleaning up debris left behind by damaging winds from Hurricane Idalia.
The Department of Public Works is responding to more than 30 downed trees. Double the amount of firefighters and first responders were on hand during the height of the storm.
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Mandatory evacuations were in place for mobile and manufactured homes, and areas prone to flooding. Most hotels in the county are nearly at capacity.
Officials said although the storm is over, cleanup continues and they’re working to clear debris as quickly as possible for everyone’s safety.
Daniel Danley, Alachua County Public Works
“In case of emergency, and we need to get an ambulance down there or fire truck and they come up here and see this, the people down the road will have to wait,” Daniel Danley with Alachua County Public Works, said. “So the faster we can get the road open, the faster we can get emergency vehicles down the road, the faster we can get the people taken care of.”
Crews expect to clear and remove debris over the next several weeks.
Remember to stay away from power lines.
- Watch out for fallen power lines that may be hanging overhead.
- Stay clear of fallen power lines. Call the electric company to report them.
Learn more about staying safe after the storm.
If you feel you have a life-threatening or dangerous situation, call 911. For non-emergencies, call 352-955-1818.
Find your provider to report power outages and view outage maps online.
Additional resources:
- Sign up for email, phone and text notifications at www.alertgnv.org.
- Visit GRU.com/StormCentral for a list of important phone numbers in the event of service emergencies, as well as a link to the Gainesville Regional Utilities outage map with estimated time of restoration.
- Visit www.safeGNV.org for additional planning tips and all emergency management updates.
- Alachua County has activated the 311 emergency information line for questions and rumor control. Neighbors can dial 311 on their cell phone or 352-264-6557 from their cell or landline.