Flooding in Downtown St. Augustine on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 10, following Hurricane Milton. | Carly Zervis, special to Jacksonville Today
Published on October 10, 2024 at 5:12 pm
Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Sign up for the Jacksonville Today newsletter.
People who were ordered to evacuate in St. Johns County for Hurricane Milton can now return home.
The county lifted the evacuation order as of 5 p.m. Thursday.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
The order took effect Wednesday. It had covered all of Evacuation Zone A, all of Evacuation Zone B and the portion of Evacuation Zone F located south of State Road 206. The areas under evacuation included the entire cities of St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach.
St. Johns County Emergency Management suggested the public stay informed through these options:
- Follow St. Johns County Emergency Management on Facebook (facebook.com/StJohnsEOC) and X/Twitter (x.com/StJohnsEOC).
- Sign up for the Alert St. Johns emergency notification system at www.sjcemergencymanagement.com.
- Register for Nixle Alerts by texting StJohnsEOC to 888777.
- Download the SJC Connect app at www.sjcfl.us/sjc-connect.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Despite lifting the order, the county urged residents in flood-prone and low-lying areas to proceed with caution. Due to lingering floodwaters, some roads and locations remain impassable.
Storm shelters will close at 10 a.m. Friday. Residents in shelters are encouraged to return home and assess their property.
The City of St. Augustine administrative offices will reopen at 8 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 11, but close again at 1 p.m. due to localized flooding Downtown during the afternoon high tide.
The St. Augustine Municipal Marina will remain closed until further notice until services can be restored.
In St. Augustine, solid waste collection operations will be solely dedicated to yard/brush debris pickup on Friday and Saturday. There will be no recycling collection on Friday. Solid waste will resume regularly scheduled collections for commercial and residential customers starting Monday, Oct. 14, and will provide additional collection of storm debris until it has been completely removed.
With the evacuation order suspended, and as residents return to their homes, city officials and public safety officers are urgently asking drivers NOT to drive through flooded streets, creating a wave with their vehicle. The wake created often flows into homes and businesses and causes unintended and sometimes devastating water damage.
City of St Augustine residents can follow www.CityStAug.com for additional updates.
Randy comes to Jacksonville from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, where as metro editor, he led investigative coverage of the Parkland school shooting that won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for public service. He has spent more than 40 years in reporting and editing positions in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Florida.
