JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As Tropical Storm Debby approaches the Gulf, Northeast Florida counties are increasing their efforts to prepare for the storm, which is expected to have the biggest impact in our area overnight Sunday into Monday morning.
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Here’s a county-by-county breakdown of preparations ahead of Tropical Storm Debby:
St. Johns County
St. Johns County issued a local state of emergency Saturday morning ahead of the storm. According to a release, this state of emergency mirrors the declaration of state of emergency issued by Gov. DeSantis Thursday.
Officials said a local state of emergency helps in response, recovery and operations necessary to manage an emergency, such as a weather event like this one.
Under this declaration of a local state of emergency, the St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center was moved into Level 2 activation. Level 3 is the lowest level of activation, and Level 1 is the highest.
The county will also be providing free sandbags at the auxiliary parking lot of the Solomon Calhoun Community Center, located at 1300 Duval St. in St. Augustine, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sunday.
The sand and bags will be provided free of charge, according to the county. However, the public must provide their own transportation and shovels and will be responsible for filling their own bags. There is a maximum allocation of 20 bags per person.
In addition, St. Johns County Emergency Management encouraged the public to stay informed through the following options:
- Follow St. Johns County Emergency Management on Facebook (facebook.com/StJohnsEOC) and X/Twitter (x.com/StJohnsEOC).
- Sign up for the Alert St. Johns emergency notification system at www.sjcemergencymanagement.com.
- Ensure the notification settings selected allow you to be alerted at all times for your safety.
- Register for Nixle Alerts by texting StJohnsEOC to 888777.
Alachua County
Alachua County announced Saturday morning it activated the 311 Emergency Information Line (or 352-264-6557 if 311 is unavailable) to better serve its residents who may have questions regarding the storm.
The county will also be distributing sandbags (10 per car) until 6 p.m. at Wayside Park. Address: 11855 NW US 441. Sandbags, sand and shovels will be available for self-serve.
The City of Gainesville also has sandbag locations until 4 p.m. at Citizens Field, and its Public Works building.
The City of High Springs has opened sandbag operations at Memorial Park until 6 p.m.
ESPAÑOL: Información sobre la distribución de los sacos de arena en el condado de Alachua
According to the county, the best way to stay up to date is to text the word ALACHUA to 888-777 and follow the Alachua County Facebook page. The Alachua County Ready website is also live and a good source for the latest storm information.
Jacksonville
The City of Jacksonville said it is prepared to respond to flooding and other storm-related issues this weekend.
Mayor Donna Deegan is declaring a local state of emergency beginning on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 8 a.m.
At that time, the Duval County Emergency Operations Center will fully activate to bring together key agencies and personnel to coordinate final storm preparations, quickly deploy resources and provide real-time response.
The Jacksonville City Council will be convened for a briefing on the local state of emergency declaration on Sunday, Aug. at 10 a.m.
630-CITY (2489) will also open phone lines at 8 a.m. to answer any questions from residents.
“While it is too early to accurately predict the exact impacts on Duval County, this system may produce local heavy rainfall with potential flooding,” the city wrote in a news release Friday.
Jacksonville residents are encouraged to sign up for AlertJax notifications, assess your home or property now, and clean out debris from storm drains and gutters.
City Rescue Mission said it will increase its overnight capacity as well as extend its hours for those seeking shelter.
“It is important to us to provide a safe place for our community’s most vulnerable during this inclement weather event,” Paul Stasi, CRM director, said. “We want to be sure everyone is safe during this storm.”
Guests seeking shelter during the storm may check in to City Rescue Mission’s New Life Inn located at 234 W. State Street in Jacksonville starting at 11 a.m. and all day Monday, Aug. 5. All guests will receive a hot meal and will be offered access to showers and clean clothing.
JEA
In addition, JEA said its “2,200-plus team members stand ready to mobilize and respond as needed as this tropical system approaches.”
JEA encouraged customers to ensure their contact information is up to date on their JEA.com account and to sign up for voice, email or text alerts. In the event of an outage, JEA will be able to contact customers directly with restoration updates. Customers who have enrolled in outage alerts also can text “OUT” to MyJEA (69532) to report their outage.
Clay County
Clay County officials will open two sandbag stations Saturday and Sunday morning from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
One of the stations will be located in Fleming Island at 4287 Lakeshore Drive. The second location will be in Middleburg at 4317 County Road 218.
There will be a limit of 10 bags per person.
Clay County Emergency Management said residents are encouraged to sign up for Alert Clay at Alert.ClayCountyGov.com and know their evacuation zones.
If the storm does move across Clay County, it is expected to produce heavy rains that can affect low-lying areas prone to flooding, including the Black Creek, the North and South Prongs, and along the St. Johns River.
Baker County
The Baker County Sheriff’s Office and Division of Emergency Management are monitoring the storm, and as of Saturday morning, officials said they do not see the need to open shelters.
The County and the City of Macclenny will be distributing sandbags to citizens of Baker County beginning Saturday from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., with a limit of six bags per household.
The bags can be picked up at the City Yard located at 764 Hartline Drive in Macclenny.
Officials asked residents to monitor updates as things may change.
Nassau County
Nassau County is also preparing for the threat of prolonged rain with the tropical storm on the way meeting with county and state leaders as well as the National Weather Service.
How to prepare:
- Review your plans
- Know your evacuation zone
- Prepare your disaster supply kit
Columbia County
The Columbia County Board of County Commissioners and staff are monitoring the upcoming possible tropical storm.
The Citizen Information Center Hotline will be open Sunday at noon to begin answering questions from residents.
Officials also asked residents to use this time to prepare for any potential impacts with non-perishable foods and water.