Hurricane Dorian: How Central Florida is preparing for the storm’s arrival

Aug. 29--As Hurricane Dorian spins toward Florida, now is the time to stock up on batteries, bottled water and sandbags. Now is not the time to trim your trees.

Public safety officials cautioned Central Florida residents to prepare their families and homes wisely for the impact and the possible aftermath of an intensifying storm that could knock out power for several days and cause severe flooding. The storm is expected to strengthen to a Category 3 hurricane.

"We really don't know what will be our most damning area," said Danny Banks, deputy Orange County administrator of public safety. "It could be water -- and we've got some known areas prone to flooding -- that we already are assessing and preparing for. Or it could be wind, like in 2004. We didn't expect the amount of damage we had from Charley."

Banks said all county departments are preparing for the storm, notably in Public Works, whose crews have worked overtime to clear storm-water drainage systems.

He said rain brings flooding, but wind can topple trees and power lines.

The county's focus won't be wasted even if Dorian veers in a direction away from Orange County, he said.

"Regardless of our preparations, we know that we're going to have to respond afterwards," said Banks, formerly the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's top executive in Central Florida. "We've learned...one of the biggest failures of government is not being prepared to respond afterwards. We're not making that mistake in Orange County."

He said the county has "solid" contracts in place with Crowder Gulf and Ashbritt, two of the largest debris-removal companies.

Some debris sat on curbs for months after Hurricane Irma in 2017 as contractors were pulled to other hurricane-ravaged areas in South Florida and Texas.

Banks said Orange County's Emergency Operations Center, normally at an activation Level 3, will likely move Friday to Level 2, a heightened alert state.

Level 1 is full-scale, 24/7 activation.

"For now, preparedness is the biggest thing," Banks said.

He urged residents not to wait until Saturday or Sunday, when the storm's path is more defined and its potential impact more clear, to prepare.

"Then might be too late," Banks said, noting bottled water, nonperishable foods and other necessities become scarce quickly in stores.

While the county promoted tree-trimming at the beginning of the storm season to protect homes, Banks discouraged the strategy now.

"The problem is right now, three or four days before the storm, is not the greatest time to try and thin a tree canopy," Banks said.

He said dead limbs and other tree trimmings can't be left at the curbside because they could be picked up and hurled by the storm.

Residents "can only put it out there if they know there's going to be a pickup between now and the storm's arrival," he said.

If not, they have to be haul it away themselves or pay someone to do it.

If your street has been swamped by rain in the past, you should try to flood-proof your home, laying down sand bags at doorways to keep flood waters outside.

Irma dumped nearly 10 inches of rain in a 24-hour period in 2017 on Orlo Vista, a working-class community about five miles west of downtown Orlando.

The deluge overwhelmed pumps and three nearby retention ponds, which overflowed and forced the evacuation of 500 homes.

Orange County has given away more than 5,100 sandbags to residents since it began offering them for free about a week ago. Citizens who provide proof of residency -- a drivers license, a utility bill or other government document -- can make up to 10 free sandbags through Aug. 31. The county provides more details storm advisories at www.ocfl.net/storm.

Seminole County opened its sandbag operations for residents at noon Wednesday at the Boombah Seminole County Sports Complex. 3450 East Lake Mary Blvd. More locations will be open Thursday. Seminole County residents can text DORIAN to 888777 to register for text alerts about future storm impacts in the county.

Seminole, too, offers storm information online at SeminoleCountyFL.gov/dorian.

Lake County will make sandbags available at five locations beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday . Residents must bring their own shovels and are allowed to take 20 bags of sand per household per 24-hour period. The sites are the Solid Waste Residential Convenience Center, 1200 Jackson St., Lady Lake, and fire stations at 23023 State Road 40, Astor; 18840 County Road 42, Altoona; 31431 Walton Heath Ave., Sorrento; and 6234 County Road 561, Clermont.

shudak@orlandosentinel.com of 407-650-6361

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