Florida Preps For Tropical Storm Zeta

Oct. 27--PANAMA CITY -- Zeta is expected to be only a tropical storm when it likely makes landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday, but Bay County officials are still preparing.

Zeta has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane, but is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before making landfall.

Bay County officials said they are taking Zeta seriously, even though the county is not expected to get much wind or rain from the storm. Escambia and Okaloosa counties to the west are likely to experience more of the storm's wrath.

Emergency Management Chief Frankie Lumm said Bay County officials have been talking with their partners about storm preparations.

"I just talked to our public works director this morning and they are going to go out and look at a couple of our bridges to see where they stand," Lumm said. "We're going to continue the cleaning and dredging at some of the bases of bridges on (State) 20 and (State) 388, so people don't get jammed up."

County workers also will lower Deer Point Dam in preparation for some rain. Lumm said Zeta will push east after it makes landfall.

According to Bay District School officials, no changes are anticipated at the county's schools. If changes become necessary, BDS will post on its social media sites, make automated calls and send emails via PeachJar.

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee said Bay County should expect the weather to be breezy Wednesday night into Thursday. There is a 10% chance that the wind speeds reach tropical storm force in Bay County.

The NWS is expecting some thunderstorms from the outer bands of Zeta and there is a marginal threat of tornadoes in Bay County. There also is a limited threat of storm surge.

The county doesn't plan to distribute sand for bagging, but will provide updates later Monday afternoon.

A task force that includes a team from law enforcement and firefighters began having conversations with Lumm on Sunday about the possibility of helping neighboring counties. They're usually on standby until after the storm, but Lumm said he wants to make sure Bay County is taken care of first.

Even though the last storm missed Bay County, the local emergency team is not getting complacent.

"The feeling is, 'We missed the last one, that's not going to happen every time' so each time, the level concern gets higher," Lumm said. "We've got to let this thing get into the Gulf and get moving to get a better picture and kind of get the spaghetti models a little more lined up."

Meanwhile, the State Emergency Response Team and FEMA sent a press release on Monday about flood insurance and how residents in the Panhandle can purchase it. The National Flood Insurance Program has coverage of $250,000 to $500,000 in building coverage and $100,000 to $500,000 in coverage for contents inside buildings.

For more information, residents can visit FloodSmart.gov or call the NFIP help desk at 800-427-4661.

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