City of Gainesville Hurricane Helene Update #3

Press release from City of Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The first bands of rain from Hurricane Helene have reached our area as the Category 1 hurricane continues its trek northward into the Gulf of Mexico. As much as six inches of rain is expected across our area. Hurricane Helene is a very large storm also expected to bring strong winds and the risk of tornados to our area.

Public Meetings

• Tomorrow’s General Policy Committee meeting has been canceled. The Gainesville City Commission Special Meeting on the FY25 budget has been rescheduled for Monday, Sept. 30. It will be the second and final public hearing on the budget.
• Visit the Public Meeting Calendar on the City’s website for the current list of scheduled meetings.

Emergency shelters open

• Alachua County issued an evacuation order for neighbors who live in mobile homes, manufactured homes, recreational vehicles, and other vulnerable homes. 
• Alachua County has opened two pet-friendly general population shelters: The MLK Jr. Multipurpose Center, 1028 NE 14th St.; and the Easton-Newberry Sports Complex, 24880 NW 16th Avenue in Newberry.
• Alachua County has opened a special needs shelter: Senior Recreation Center, 5701 NW 34th Blvd. Registration in advance is required. Please call 352-264-6540 to register.
• For transportation to the special needs shelter, please call 352-955-2575.
• Details including which items to bring to a shelter can be found here.

311 Emergency Information Line

• Alachua County has activated the 311 Emergency Information line for rumor control and questions. Neighbors can also dial 352-264-6557.

Regional Transit System (RTS)

• Bus service will operate on reduced service tomorrow, and will suspend service once area winds reach 35 mph. Visit www.go-rts.com for additional information

Refuse Collection

• All residential trash and recycling pickup for tomorrow, Sept. 26, is delayed with expected pickup on Friday. Please do not place containers, branches or other items curbside tomorrow.

Facilities

• All parks, pools and recreation centers are closed until the storm passes.
• City offices will be closed tomorrow, Sept. 26.

Additional resources

• To receive City of Gainesville alerts, sign up at www.alertgnv.org.
• Visit GRU.com/StormCentral for a list of important phone numbers in the event of service emergencies, as well as a link to the Gainesville Regional Utilities outage map with estimated time of restoration.
• Visit www.safeGNV.org for all emergency management updates and additional preparedness tips.