Flagler County and city officials are breathing a collective sigh of relief. Despite the worst rain event Palm Coast has known in its history, despite some floodwaters in Flagler Beach’s low-lying areas and severe winds during Hurricane Milton’s passage over the region, the number of homes that experienced water intrusion have been limited to “a handful,” while the number of homes reporting wind damage, in Palm Coast, stands at 57. The numbers in Flagler Beach are not yet known. The shelter will close today, the night curfew will be rescinded.
Flagler
Water Surging in Flagler Beach’s Low-Lying Areas, Flooding Some Homes; 44,800 Still Without Power in Flagler
“This horror will grow mild, this darkness light,” Floridians may be telling themselves–perhaps in not so many words–as Hurricane Milton edged off the coast of Florida this morning, still as a hurricane that left a wide swath of destruction and 3.2 million customers without power in its enormous path.
With Hurricane Milton’s Worst Ahead, Torrential Rains Raise Flooding Concerns in Palm Coast and Close Roads
Torrential rain in Palm Coast ahead of Hurricane Milton has “severely overwhelmed” the city’s stormwater system. Milton’s advance rain bands have led to a few street closures in the B Section, to city crews special-delivering sand bags to some residents, and to an alert from the city to residents to minimize water usage as the stormwater system is being overwhelmed by precipitation–with the worst yet to come.
Commissioner ‘Disheartened’ By Lack of Evacuations in Flagler Beach, Where Milton Preparations Are Plainly Low Key
But for significantly less traffic on most roads, you’d be hard-pressed to see that the largest part of Flagler County under an evacuation order was heeding the warning this morning. From the looks of the Barrier Island and the mainland part of Flagler Beach in the first hours after the 8 a.m. evacuation order, there were many more cars parked in driveways than getting packed or driving off. Homes with sandbags or other storm preparations were the exception. Businesses were more likely to be boarded up than homes, though that was the exception even for businesses, most of which were closed.
Evacuations Ordered for Entire Barrier Island and Much of Mainland East of I-95, Curfew Wednesday Night
Hurricane Milton’s projected path has remained remarkably steady with very slight variations north or south, but with models agreeing on landfall in the Tampa Bay area after midnight Thursday and now mostly merging to agree on a path along or a bit south of I-4, toward Merritt Island and the Space Coast, where it would exit, still as a hurricane, Thursday afternoon. Tropical-storm force winds ranging between 40 and 70 mph are expected in Flagler County, with the possibility of hurricane-force winds especially on the barrier island.
County Has No Intention of Closing SR100 Bridge and Sheriff Says It’s Not His Call Alone. Flagler Beach Had Other Ideas.
The Flagler Beach City Commission in an emergency meeting Monday approved a resolution asking the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to “exercise appropriate measures” regarding the State Road 100 bridge. The resolution does not explicitly ask the sheriff to close the bridge if need be, but the commission’s discussion before voting on the resolution indicated that intent, even though it appears to clash with the county’s emergency declaration, state law, and the sheriff’s own position.
County Commission Recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness Month and ‘Red Ribbon’ Week
In a pair of proclamations that shed light on some of society’s grimmer realities, the Flagler County Commission on Monday recognized National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the county’s Family Life Center as well as “Red Ribbon Week,” an annual effort to bring attention to alcohol and drug abuse–or misuse, as professionals in the field prefer to call it–which has nevertheless only grown since the inception of Red Ribbon Week in 1988.
On an Unsettled Day, Judge Dawn Nichols Brings Order to Court as She Begins Post-Perkins Tenure
A week after Terence Perkins’s retirement, Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols walked into court at 1:35 this afternoon, wished the lawyers, a half dozen inmates inmates and a dozen people in the gallery a good afternoon, and got to work with pleas, a couple of sentencing hearings, bond and status hearings with workmanlike cheer and speed just shy of breathless.
Milton Could Be Among ‘Most Destructive Hurricanes on Record,’ NHC Warns; Flagler Readies for Flooding; Cancellations Multiply
Hurricane Milton, now a monster storm, had sustained winds of 180 miles per hour, making it one of the most intense and dangerous hurricanes ever recorded. It had crashed NHC’s site in early evening Monday, as Florida’s midsection was bracing for a direct hit in the Tampa Bay area and Flagler County was preparing for severe impacts and potential hurricane-force winds that it did not record even during Hurricanes Mathew and Ian in 2016 and 2017.
Hurricane Milton, Gaining Force Quicker, Is Barreling Toward Florida’s I-4 Corridor and Flagler By Midweek
Eleven days after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend, Tropical Storm Milton, expected to be Hurricane Milton by tonight, is rapidly gaining strength and is expected to become a major hurricane by Tuesday. It is mobilizing Florida from Tampa Bay through the north-central midsection of the state, including Flagler County, where severe conditions and impacts are expected. Tropical-storm-force winds are expected in Flagler County late Tuesday night into Wednesday. The rainfall potential over the next five days for coastal Flagler County, including Flagler Beach and Beverly Beach, is in the 8 to 12-inch range, and in the 6 to 8 inch range for inland Flagler.