With both Orange and Volusia counties being spared from severe storm damage, available resources are heading to parts of Florida with the most devastation.
Both FEMA and the state’s emergency management office are occupying space inside the Orange County Convention Center as a command center for storm restoration.
A group with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office departed Wednesday afternoon following a send-off ceremony attended by Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
Jodi Tillman is the mother of Edgewater’s police chief and said it was emotional watching law enforcement depart to Taylor County, which is also where she is a college administrator. Tillman said her school suffered damage from the storm.
“It means a lot. With that said it’s a small rural county, they are overwhelmed. There’s been so much devastation. They haven’t even gotten to parts,” Tillman said. “We have 100-year-old trees planted after World War I and they are gone.”
Orange County also continues to host both FEMA and the Florida Department of Emergency Management with their command centers set up inside the convention center.