Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (2024)

Updated on: 10/09/24 10:30pm

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (1)

Everyone needs to be at their shelter-in-place location now.


The storm impacts will reach far beyond the cone. It is not safe to be out, or to return to your home if you have evacuated.

As the tropical storm force winds are arriving, the time to shelter in place is now. Do not be on the roads.


Note, when storm winds reach sustained 45 mph, most emergency responders will shelter in place and not respond to 911 calls for service. When windspeeds drop to less than 45 mph, sustained, fire departments will begin to respond to all 911 calls that were placed in the queue.

HURRICANE MILTON INFORMATION

Follow Lee County Government on social media, US National Weather Service Tampa Bay Florida, and local news stations for up-to-date information.

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EVACUATION ORDERS & SHELTERS

EVACUATION ORDERS:

Those living in evacuation Zones A and B should finalize their hurricane safety plans and evacuate by Tuesday evening. Severe weather is expected to move into our area overnight on Tuesday.

Remember, evacuations do not need to be hundreds of miles away. We encourage you to stay with a friend or family member in a non-evacuated zone. Emergency shelters are also opening for those without a safe place to ride out the storm.

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  • To find your Evacuation Zone,choose one of the links below.

SHELTERS:

The followingshelters are open to the public.


Please bring your own shelf-stable food and enough up to three days to support you and your family. Refrigeration will not be provided.

Visit the Public Shelters landing page for more information. Please note: not all shelters are open; only shelters marked as Open are available.

All sheltersare pet-friendly. Pet owners are responsible for pet food, and medications and should have all animals on a leash or in a crate.

Business Impact and Damage Assessment Survey

Following Hurricane Milton Impacts, please completeour Business Impact and Damage Assessment Survey

For business concerns, please email edo@leegov.com

OPERATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS


Lee County Governmentoffices closed at noon on Monday, 10/7 through Friday 10/11.

Announcements about reopening will be made later in the week, based on the severity of the storm.

Go to www.leegov.com/departments for specific office or operational information, as some may have slight adjustments in the wake of the storm.

Community Development

Any unincorporated Lee County Residents or Businesses within the Special Flood Hazard Area with any damage to their homes or businesses, including water intrusion,must obtain a permit for all repairs. Please emailFIRMinfo@leegov.comfor assistance with permit requirements and resources, and be sure to include the following information:

Contact Information

Property Address

Type of Damage

Height of the water that entered the home

Residents also can find more informationhere.

Solid Waste

  • Regular trash, recycling and yard wastecollection services are currently suspended.
  • At this time, please do not put additional storm debris at the curb. Please wait until the storm passes to set it at the curb. After Hurricane Milton passes, areas with storm surge in residential homes can place material along the roadway, but not in the roadway.
    • Please separate the debris into two piles: demolition debris with household goods and yard waste.
    • Bring contaminated household chemicals to our facility at 6441 Topaz Court off Metro Parkway.
    • Areas without storm surge can use our normal solid waste services. Our normal services include yard waste and 2 cubic yards (36” by 36” by 72”) of construction debris each week.
  • Remember, all work done to repair a structure requires a permit from our Department of Community Development (email:FIRMinfo@leegov.com).

Library

  • Libraries closedat noon on Monday, 10/7, along with all county offices.
  • Item due dates and hold pick up dates for physical materials will be extended.
  • Electronic resources are available online atwww.leelibrary.net/online.

  • All Lee County Parks & Recreation sites closed at noon on Monday, 10/7. This includes:

    • Pools
    • Boat ramps
    • Recreation centers
    • Beach accesses
    • Preserves
    • Administrative offices

Transportation

  • Tolls on Lee County bridges – Cape Coral Parkway, Midpoint Bridge and the Sanibel Causeway – have been suspended.

LeeTran

  • At this time Leetran services are are currentlysuspended.
  • MonitorLeeTran social mediafor specific rider alerts.

Utilities

  • Lee County Utilities shut off water to Fort Myers Beach at noon Tuesday, Oct. 8. This is a precautionary measure to protect infrastructure.
  • All other Lee County Utilities operations continue as normal.

EMERGENCY ALERT TOOLS


Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (7)

Sign up for
Emergency Alerts

AlertLee is Lee County'sEmergency Mass Notification System and is usedto quickly communicate with the public,providingcritical and time-sensitive information duringemergencies.

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (8)

Download theLeePreparesApp:

iPhone|Android

LeePrepares is afree app to find your evacuation zone and sign up for evacuation text notifications. Shelter locations, preparedness information and local weather is provided.

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (9)

Find my Evacuation Zone

Click the link to view an interactive map highlighting Lee County's Evacuation Zones. Residents can type in their addressto see what Evacuation Zone their homes are located.

HURRICANE HELENE INFORMATION

Crews continue to assess damages from Hurricane Helene on our barrier islands, including Fort Myers Beach, Boca Grande, Sanibel and Captiva Islands, along with all other impacted areas in the county. Please allow county crews to perform their assessments and to clean up areas that flooded due to Hurricane Helene.

Residents with questions about non-urgent matters can call the Emergency Information Hotline. United Way activated the hotline earlier this week. Call United Way 211 by dialing 2-1-1 or (239) 433-3900 with questions related to closures and real-time updates, Call 9-1-1 for urgent or life-threatening matters.

Stay up to date onLee County Government operational updates by regularly visiting this page or following the countyon social media:

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FEMA Disaster Assistance

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (14)Homeowners and renters who have uninsured damage or losses caused by Hurricane Helene, visit www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362 to determine eligibility for FEMA disaster assistance.

Hurricane Cleanup

Debris must be placed in the right of way for collection - collection crews will not enter your private property to remove debris.

Crews ask that you separate materials into different piles: normal household trash, vegetation, construction and demolition, appliances and electronics.Do not place storm debris into bags.

Please do not place material next to mailboxes, power poles, or fire hydrants.

Collections have resumed as normal as ofMonday, Sept. 30, including collections for Captiva and Boca Granderesidents.

Do not set hazardous waste at the curb – please take it to the Household Chemical and Electronic Waste Facility, 6441 Topaz Court, Fort Myers.

For a more extensive list of where items go, download the Recycle Coach app. To find out more, go to www.solidwaste.com/recyclecoach

Remember, all work done to repair a structure requires a permit from our Department of Community Development (email;FIRMinfo@leegov.com)

Lee County Business Survey and Florida Commerce Business Survey

We kindly ask that you share the following information to your networks and have them respond to our survey HERE so that our business community can be aware of current impacts and resources. We will continue to share information as it is available.

The State of Florida Department of Commerce also has a damage assessment survey available and can be found here.

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (16)Lee County Preparation

Teams throughoutLee County Government workedto ensure the county wasas prepared as possible for impacts from Hurricane Helene. Examples include:

Department of Transportation

  • Staff scheduled extra on-call personnel withinOperations and Traffic divisions to work overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday to monitor road conditions.

  • DOT Operations inspected drainage structures in lower-lying areas to make sure they are flowing freely and coordinating with Department of Natural Resources on weir gate operations to provide space for water to stage, where appropriate.

Natural Resources

  • Staff monitored and evaluated hydrologic conditions from the network of sensors and gauges including groundwater levels, stream level and rainfall to assist in determining areas most vulnerable to flooding;

  • Staff workedwith South Florida Water Management District to clean creeks and streams of exotic and obstructing vegetation, recognizing in many cases they serve as the major watercourses for flood relief and documenting pre-storm conditions along our critically eroded beaches.

Human & Veteran Services

  • In partnership with Human & Veteran Services and law enforcement, the Salvation Army opened an additional 40 beds at the Center of Hope LIFNAV Center, 2400 Edison Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33901 for people experiencing homelessness.

  • The department’s HVS Reach app, which is available for free download on the Apple App Store and Google Play, was also updated. Persons experiencing homelessness can sign up to receive push alerts from the app.

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (17) News Releases

  • Lee County Government and Fire Rescue Department partners to help people check on family and friends after Hurricane Milton post-landfall - 10/9/24
  • Shelter in place as Hurricane Milton is near the Lee County coast - 10/9/24
  • Lee County update on Hurricane Milton - 10/9/24
  • Facebook Live Advisory - 10/9/24
  • Lee County Government update on Hurricane Milton - County offices closed on Friday, Oct. 11 - 10/08/24
  • Lee County Government update on Hurricane Milton- 10/08/24
  • Lee County announces four additional shelter openings in advance of Hurricane Milton - 10/08/24
  • Lee County announces additional shelter openings this morning in advance of Hurricane Milton - 10/08/24
  • Lee County orders mandatory evacuations for Evacuation Zones A and B, opens some shelters in advance of Hurricane Milton- 10/07/24
  • Lee County Government Hurricane Milton update for Fort Myers Beach- 10/07/24
  • Lee County Government evening update on Hurricane Milton- 10/06/24
  • Lee County Government update on Tropical Storm Milton- 10/06/24
  • Lee County Solid Waste offers yard-debris reminders post-Hurricane Helene - 10/04/24
  • Lee County Government reminds residents FEMA disaster assistance remains available - 10/04/24
  • Lee County reminds residents permits must be pulled for work due to Hurricane Helene damage - 10/02/24
  • Lee County continues regular trash collection and storm debris cleanup while monitoring tropics -10/02/24
  • Lee Board of County Commissioners provided update on efforts following Hurricane Helene - 10/01/24
  • Lee County update post-Hurricane Helene for debris removal - 9/30/24
  • Lee County Commissioners to receive Hurricane Helene update at regularly scheduled meeting - 9/30/24
  • Lee County Solid Waste encourages residents to be aware of these post-Hurricane Helene collection tips - 9/27/24
  • Lee County officials to offer updates post-Hurricane Helene in a Facebook live event at noon today - 9/27/24
  • Lee County update post-Hurricane Helene - 9/27/24
  • Lee County urges residents to stay home, avoid driving as Hurricane Helene's inclement weather continues in region - 9/26/24
  • Facebook Live Advisory - 9/26/24
  • Lee County morning update for Thursday, Sept. 26, regarding Hurricane Helene - 9/26/24
  • Lee County launches website landing page to provide easy access to operational updates during Hurricane Helene - 9/25/24
  • Lee County update for Wednesday, Sept. 25, regarding Tropical Storm Helene - 9/25/24
  • Lee Commissioners approve State of the Local Emergency related to Tropical Storm Helene- 9/24/23
  • Lee County updates operations in preperation for the approach of Tropical Storm Helene - 9/24/24

Municipalities & Partners

Municipalities

Constitutionals

National Weather Service provides active weather alerts, current conditions, and weather forecasts.


Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (33)Sign up for regular updates from Lee County Government

STATE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY

A State of Local Emergency is something municipalities and counties declare to help them prepare for and respond to situations such as hurricanes. A SOLE helps with governmental procurement processes, helps the community receive funds for recovery, and enables the ability of government to make decisions in response to the emergency that can be subsequently ratified.

Current State of Local Emergency Resolutions
​Evacuation Order

Hurricane Milton & Hurricane Helene (2024)

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