FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Flagler County leaders announced evacuation orders on Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida.
The order goes into effect at 8 a.m. on Wednesday for certain parts of the county.
“Those particularly on the easternmost side of our community: be prepared for an evacuation,” Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said.
Areas of Flagler County affected by the evacuation order include:
- All residents living in mobile homes and recreational vehicles
- Residents living in flood-prone areas, especially near Crescent Lake and Dead Lake
- On the barrier island (Zone A)
- Coastal communities from the St. Johns County line to the Volusia County line (from Marineland down to Flagler Beach)
- South of SR-100 (Moody Boulevard)
- Neighborhoods off John Anderson Hwy
- Neighborhoods off Palm Drive
- Bulow RV Park & Homes, off Old Kings Rd
- Polo Club West/Sweetbottom Plantation properties along Lexington Court/Ashland Way and that back up to the Bulow Creek
- Between SR-100 (Moody Blvd) and Palm Coast Pkwy
- Neighborhoods off Lambert Ave
- In Marina Del Palm the properties along the Intracoastal Waterway/yacht basin
- In Palm Coast Plantation:
- Properties off South/North Riverwalk Drive
- North of Palm Coast Pkwy
- Properties within the Princess Place Preserve
In addition, a curfew will go into effect on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will run through 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. According to Sheriff Rick Staly, the curfew will be repeated daily until the order is rescinded.
“We’re hoping it will only be one night. But depending on the destruction and damage and the conditions of the roads, it may continue,” Staly announced.
Lord said the area has already been inundated with rain over the last few weeks, and the soil is already saturated ahead of the storm.
“We’re worried about flooding,” he said. “The soil is looser because of the rain, so that means lower winds are going to knock over trees much easier than a typical hurricane passing through.”
[RELATED: Track Milton: Cone, models, more | TIMING: What to expect in Central Fla. | Sandbag locations | School, university closures | Tropical terms to know | Watches vs. warnings | Download the FREE News 6 hurricane app]
The evacuation area includes Flagler Beach, which was hit hard by hurricanes Ian and Nicole two years ago. A mobile home community off Flagler Avenue was flooded by those storms.
Craig Peters said he has lived there for 33 years.
“I’ve been through five hurricanes and Andrew in Miami,” he told News 6. “They can’t make me leave. I have no other place to go. I’d rather stay here.”
According to county officials, a pet-friendly shelter will be open at 8 a.m. on Wednesday at Rymfire Elementary School, located at 1425 Rymfire Drive. For a full list of emergency shelters across Central Florida, click here.
