BREAKING: Mandatory evacuation order for Taylor coastline

Posted on October 9, 2018

With forecasters calling for an 8- to 12-foot storm surge along the Taylor County coast due to winds associated with Hurricane Michael, local emergency management officials have issued a mandatory evacuation order for all coastal and low-lying areas in the county.

Sheriff Wayne Padgett issued the mandatory evacuation order shortly before noon on Tuesday and said deputies will begin notifying residents as soon as possible, Taylor County Emergency Management (TCEM) officials said.

There will also be a bus located at the Keaton Beach Boat ramp at 2 p.m. to transport citizens needing a ride to the shelter. There will be a last loop at 5 p.m. starting at Steinhatchee School and then going to Keaton Beach Boat Ramp. The bus will wait 30 minutes at each location

A bus will be at the Steinhatchee School at 12 noon Tuesday to begin transporting residents without vehicles to the Taylor County Elementary School (TCES) shelter, which will open at approximately 2 p.m.

According to TCEM Deputy Director Kristy Anderson, the shelter will take pets as long as they are crated. An overflow shelter will also be available at Taylor County High School, if needed.

Sandbags are available at the County Road Department on U.S. 27 in Perry and the Steinhatchee Roll-Off Site, which will remain open until 7 p.m. on Tuesday, weather permitting.

Most non-essential government offices in the county are closing at 12 noon Tuesday.

The Taylor County Commission met Monday to declare a local state of emergency and issue a voluntary evacuation order, giving Padgett the authority to upgrade the order later if the need arose.

Taylor County is currently under a storm surge warning, as well as a hurricane warning along the coast and a tropical storm warning inland.

According to the latest warnings (11 a.m., Tuesday) from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Tallahassee, there is the potential for 8 to 12 feet of storm surge along the Taylor County coast.

Additionally, winds are forecast to peak at 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph.

Inland, the winds are forecast to peak at 15 to 25 mph with gusts of up to 35 mph.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is still predicting Hurricane Michael will make landfall around the Panama City area Wednesday afternoon, but everyone is warned to keep up to date with any late changes to the track.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, the storm, with maximum-sustained winds of 110 mph, was located 360 miles south of Panama City moving north at 12 mph.

“A northward motion is expected through tonight, followed by a northeastward motion on Wednesday and Thursday,” NHC forecasters said. “On the forecast track, the center of Michael will move across the eastern Gulf of Mexico through tonight. The center of Michael is then expected to move inland over the Florida Panhandle or Florida Big Bend area on Wednesday, and then move northeastward across the southeastern United States Wednesday night and Thursday, and move off the Mid-Atlantic coast away from the United States by Friday.”

LOCAL CLOSURES:

Taylor County School District – Closed Tuesday through Thursday.

Point of Grace Christian – Closed Tuesday through Thursday.

CDI Head Start – Closed Tuesday through Thursday.

North Florida Community College – Closed 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

Taylor County Courthouse – Closed Tuesday at 12 noon.

Taylor County Courts – Closed Tuesday at 12 noon through Friday.

Taylor County Government – Non-essential offices closed Tuesday at 12 noon.

City of Perry Government – Non-essential offices closed Tuesday at 12 noon.

All state offices in Taylor County – Closed Tuesday through Thursday.

DELAYS/CANCELLATIONS

Perry City Council meeting (Tuesday), canceled.

Taylor County Commission workshop (Thursday), canceled.

Gulf Coast Kayak Fishing Tournament (Saturday), postponed to Nov. 17.

Ethics Class (Wednesday), postponed to Oct. 17.

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