- April 18, 2024
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Volusia County's curfew has been extended for the rest of the day today, Thursday, Sept. 29, through 7 a.m. Friday, County Manager George Recktenwald announced at a 10 a.m. briefing for Hurricane Ian.
"We just passed it through with the county chair and county council," Recktenwald said. "Effective immediately, the curfew that was in place last night will be extended from now until 7 a.m. tomorrow morning."
Reckenwald followed Sheriff Mike Chitwood to the podium at the briefing which was held at the county's Emergency Operations Center in Daytona Beach and broadcast live on Facebook. To view, the briefing, click HERE. Chitwood urged residents to stay off the roads.
"Around 4:35 this morning, I think Volusia County took as much water as it could take," Chitwood said. "As a result of that, we are seeing historic flooding. The county is being cut off in different pockets because of this historic flooding. If you drive into one of these these big puddles, these big flooded areas, and you get stuck, we're not coming to get you. No businesses are open. For the next several hours, at least, we're going to undergo this massive rainstorm. I'm imploring you to stay off of the roads. We cannot afford somebody to lose their life or for you to stop us from doing our job."
Emergency officials are urging residents to only call 911 if there is is a life threatening or emergency medical situation. Residents who see a downed line are asked to call the Citizens Information Center at 866-345-0345. Assume the line is electrified and don’t touch it or go near it, officials say. Report it to your power company as well as the Citizens Information Center at 866-345-0345
Community Information Director Ken Captain reported that Volusia County had its first fatality related to the storm, a 72-year-old man who went outside to drain his pool.
All bridges remain closed due to the high winds, Captain said.
"The Florida Department of Transportation will be performing the bridge inspections before they reopen, but that's not going to be until the winds subside," Captain said. "Multiple city, town and county roads are closed due to obstruction of trees and extreme flooding."
Captain said FPC reported more than 48,000 customers were without power as of 5 a.m. Thursday, and Duke Energy reported over 22,000 customers without power as of 7 a.m. To report a power outage contact FPL at www.fpl.com, 800-468-8243.
"We're going to continue to see sustained strong tropical-storm-force winds for the next six hours or so," said Jim Judge, the county's interim director of Emergency Management. "Then even after we get past those sustained tropical-storm-force winds we're going to continue to have tropical storm gusts coming through all night tonight. And hopefully things will be good to clear out by Friday morning."
But Judge said there will continue to be a great deal of rain through Sunday.
More information can be found HERE.
