City of Gainesville Storm Update #1 – Tropical Storm Helene

Press release from City of Gainesville

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tropical Storm Helene is expected to quickly move northward once it enters the Gulf of Mexico and then gain hurricane strength tomorrow.

Neighbors should prepare themselves, their families, and their property as this storm is expected to bring strong winds and rain to our area.

• Sign up for email, phone, and text notifications at www.alertgnv.org.
• Refill needed prescriptions. All health insurers, managed care organizations, and other health entities must comply with the state statute which allows for early prescription refills as the Governor issued an executive order Monday declaring a state of emergency.
• Review your family emergency plan and stock your emergency preparedness kit, including flashlight batteries and nonperishable foods for family and your pets. Visit ready.gov for more information.
• Now is the time to bring inside any loose objects in your yard (lawn furniture, political signs, outdoor decorations, hanging plants, etc.) so they do not become projectiles in strong winds.

Sandbag operations

• Pre-made sandbags will be available until 5 p.m. today, Sept. 24, and 8 a.m.- 5p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 25 at the Public Works Center, 405 NW 39th Ave. A limit of 10 filled sandbags per vehicle can be picked up at this location. To ease traffic flow, arrive at this location via northbound NW Sixth Street and then turn east (right) onto NW 39th Ave.
• Bags and sand to make self-serve sandbags will be available until 5 p.m. today, Sept. 24, and 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 25, at Citizens Field, 1000 NE Waldo Rd. Please bring a shovel or trowel to fill sandbags at this location. Assistance is available for those in need. A limit of 10 bags for filling will be provided per vehicle. To ease traffic flow, access the site from NE 12th Ave. via Waldo Road, or travel south on NE 15th Street via NE 16th Ave.
• For information about sandbags outside Gainesville city limits, contact your local municipality or visit the Alachua County Ready website.

Facilities

• Nature parks will be closed tomorrow, Sept. 25. Active parks will close at 3 p.m. tomorrow. City pools will close at 10 a.m. tomorrow. They will reopen once the storm passes.

Refuse Collection

• Residential trash pickup continues normal operations at this time. Service is suspended once area winds reach 35 mph.

Regional Transit System (RTS)

• Bus service continues normal operations at this time. Service will be suspended once area winds reach 35 mph. Visit www.go-rts.com for additional information.

Public Meetings

• Visit the Public Meeting Calendar on the City’s website for the current list of scheduled meetings.

Additional resources

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