FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office lifted a curfew order Friday morning that was set due to “ongoing concerns” regarding community safety following Hurricane Milton.
According to county officials, the curfew was set as a precautionary measure that allowed first responders to operate without interference. It was also meant to protect residents from potential dangers associated with flooding, downed powerlines and debris.
On Friday, Flagler County Emergency Management said it is still “critically important” for residents to limit their water system consumption to emergency tasks only such as sparingly flushing toilets, hand washing and drinking.
In a social media post, City of Bunnell officials asked residents to refrain from non-emergency.
“There’s nothing wrong with the water coming out of the tap. All of our issues are due to the sewage system being overloaded, which is very common in heavy rain situations,” Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said Thursday.
He also mentioned workers were out assessing damage.
“So it’s kind of like a tiered step process,” Lord said. “So, it’s first the county and we send out staff from the property appraiser’s office and our building, building department. They’re out now. There’s probably between a dozen and 20 people depending on the time of day.”
Bunnell officials said city crews began storm recovery operations and work early Friday morning and are going street by street to inspect, clear debris and make any possible immediate repairs to restore operations as quickly as possible.
Crews will continue operations Saturday and resume on Monday, Oct. 14.
Residents are urged to stay off the road when they can and allow officials to see what needs attention and who needs help.
News4JAX spoke to Flagler County resident Bob Bechir, who echoed the same sentiment, especially on streets that are still flooded.
“Number one it’s dangerous because you don’t know what’s under there,” Bechir said. “Number two, you don’t know how deep it is and if it could cause your car to flood. But as you saw, as she drove through, it’s much like a boat. It causes wakes and as those wakes are created they come forward.”
VIDEO | Coast Guard saves man clinging to cooler 30 miles off Florida coast as Hurricane Milton approached
Solid waste services resumed Friday morning. The City is focusing on the Grand Reserve Residential Garbage collection skipped Thursday and regularly scheduled commercial dumpster pickups.
The City also began the yard waste pickups on Friday. Yard waste is from trees and bushes and vegetation only. Officials want to remind people that items that used to be trees such as wooden fence posts or fencing are not yard waste.
Here are some guidelines to be aware of for solid waste collections:
- Yard waste piles need to be kept separate from bulk pickup/other debris (furniture, carpeting, construction debris) piles. Appliances need to be in their own pile.
- Do not put any pile near an obstruction. Obstructions are overhead wires, cars, mailboxes, fire hydrants, utility pedestals, trash cans, etc. (anything that might interfere with the grapple/claw of the truck from grabbing the items in a pile).
- Regular solid waste schedules will resume on Monday, Oct. 14.
- Over the next several weeks, storm yard waste and debris will continue to be picked up day by day as daily operations allow. The City will evaluate the need to engage the services of the City contracted storm debris hauler once the full extent of damage can be assessed.
City of Bunnell offices will open on Monday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 a.m.
Flagler County residents can report any damage from Hurricane Milton by filling out a damage report on this website.
For the latest Hurricane Milton updates in Flagler County visit this website.