Know when it’s time to shelter in place for Hurricane Milton

As Hurricane Milton gets closer to Southwest Florida, first responders are doing their final sweeps of evacuation zones.

While officials continue to urge you to leave evacuation zones, it is also important to know when it is no longer safe to leave since driving conditions will start deteriorating.

Severe thunderstorms began affecting Southwest Florida as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Many municipalities have announced it is time to shelter in place.

As cities, counties and law enforcement provide shelter-in-place announcements, WINK News will update this article.

The National Weather Service recommends the following when sheltering in place:

• Take refuge in a small interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest level during the storm. Put as many walls between you and the outside as you can.
• Stay away from windows, skylights, and glass doors.
• If the eye of the storm passes over your area, there will be a short period of calm, but at the other side of the eye, the wind speed rapidly increases to hurricane force winds coming from the opposite direction.

Sanibel

As of 8 a.m. Thursday, the City of Sanibel is still asking anyone who decided to shelter in place at the island to continue to do so.

The 24-hour curfew is still in place and it is imperative that those who chose to remain on the island continue to shelter in place. 

City of Fort Myers

The City of Fort Myers has announced that emergency services have been resumed.

Fort Myers expects to see 8-12 feet of life-threatening storm surge.

If you are in zones A and B, the Fort Myers Police Department urges you to utilize the 13 emergency shelters available in Lee County.

Severe thunderstorm bands will be affecting Fort Myers Wednesday afternoon into evening.

FMPD has announced people should be sheltered in place by 2 p.m. Wednesday.

City of Cape Coral

The City of Cape Coral’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has resumed all emergency services across the city now that wind speeds have decreased.

All 911 calls that were received during the suspension were logged and prioritized. First responders will now begin responding to these calls for service.

The city announced on Facebook around 1 p.m. Wednesday that it was time for Cape Coral residents to shelter in place.

“As Hurricane Milton moves across Florida, conditions are rapidly deteriorating, and residents are urged to shelter in place now. While there may be brief periods of clear weather, bands of heavy wind and rain are expected to impact our area into tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 10…. Please stay in your safe location until all weather impacts have passed.”

Lee County

Lee County has issued a shelter-in-place order until all weather impacts are over.

The county warned storm impacts will reach far beyond the cone, and reminded people it is not safe to be out, or to return to your home if you have evacuated.

In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, the county made the following statement: “Bands of heavy wind and rain will continue to move through our area as Hurricane Milton passes over the state of Florida. We will see intermittent periods of clear weather, but impacts are likely to continue into tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 10). Stay in your safe place until all weather impacts are over and continue to stay tuned to our social media channels and local forecasts for updates.”

The county also said to wait for an all-clear message before going out.