Flooding is the “greatest concern” in Orange County, County Public Safety Director Danny Banks said Thursday, adding there was a possibility “up to 24 inches of rain in the county. “.
“We have many neighborhoods, especially in Orange County right now, that our firefighters are working to aggressively evacuate,” Banks said during a briefing. “We’ve probably already seen between 10 and 16 inches of rain in Orange County and are expecting more rain as the hours go by today.”
The Fire Department went to neighborhoods last night to respond to calls, and there are “more than a dozen” specific neighborhoods in Orange County that the Fire Department is assisting residents who suffer from flooding.
Currently, there are nine neighborhoods in the county that the fire crew is working in to evacuate residents, according to Banks, and “very soon” that crew will be supported by the Florida National Guard.
“You can expect within the hour to see National Guardsmen working directly with our fire crews as they enter these neighborhoods and try to help people out,” he said.
The shelters have “lots of capacity” and continue to house more than 1,000 people, according to Banks. This number is expected to increase today.
“We have seen some people, including people in our special needs shelters, who have started returning home this morning, but to replace those we have more people evacuating flood affected areas in the neighborhoods,” he said.
As power companies continue to make assessments, there are about 200,000 to a quarter million homes without power, according to Banks.
“We’ll have a more specific update, I think, in the next few hours as to the exact potency,” he said.
The banks said that although they are still in the impact phase, they are “moving quickly to response”.
“There are literally thousands of first responders now on the streets of Orange County, rescuing people where needed and responding to calls for help,” he said.