Jacksonville avoided the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton as the storm tore across the midsection of the Florida Peninsula, Mayor Donna Deegan said Oct. 10, with no local deaths and relatively little damage reported.
“I am just absolutely beyond grateful that we continue to be so blessed in this city that we yet again have avoided the worst of one of these monster storms,” Deegan said during a midday update.
The Associated Press reported that as of mid-morning Oct. 10, Milton caused at least four deaths and knocked out power to more than 3 million customers after making landfall Oct. 9 near the barrier island of Siesta Key near Sarasota. The storm spawned more than 150 tornadoes before exiting the East Coast near Cape Canaveral.
In Jacksonville, no deaths or injuries had been reported as of midday Oct. 10.
Deegan said, power outages peaked at 13,761 around 3 a.m. As of 11 a.m., she said, JEA had restored power to all but 435 customers.
“Hopefully, you recognize how amazing that is,” she said.
Deegan said street flooding from high-tide surges remained possible along the St. Johns River as floodwaters from hard-hit areas flow up the river. She urged local motorists not to drive into standing water.
Deegan said the city’s six public shelters took in 777 people, with 534 of them remaining as of 11 a.m. She said the shelters would remain open overnight and into the morning of Oct. 11.
Duval County schools and city offices will remain closed until Oct. 14. For a full list of closures, visit Jaxready.com/milton#accordion.
Waste pickups scheduled for Oct. 10 will be collected Oct. 12, but otherwise pickups will go as scheduled.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department sent crews southward Oct. 9 to assist local authorities, and Chief Keith Powers said Oct. 10 that the department was working to determine whether more could be directed to hard-hit areas.