'Be prepared for the worst': Volusia County Emergency Management

EOC activated ahead of Hurricane Dorian, county under local state of emergency

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County officials urged residents Thursday to prepare ahead of Hurricane Dorian, saying this storm has been unpredictable and residents need to prepare.

"This is a dangerous storm with a lot of unknowns," Volusia County manager George Recktonwald. "But as we've seen in the past, these storms can turn and intensify and this has been a hard storm to predict. You must be prepared for the worst."

Volusia County activated it's Emergency Management Center to a Level 2, meaning they will be monitoring the storm and taking calls from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Saturday morning. That is when it will go to Level 3 activation. 

"Just yesterday morning Daytona Beach was at the center of the cone of uncertainly," EOC Director Jim Judge said. "It's a significant and deadly and dangerous hurricane." 

Judge said as of Thursday at 4 p.m., Volusia County is expected to have tropical storm force winds and flooding, with an additional 10 to 15 inches of rain predicted.

[HURRICANE PREP: Where to find sandbags in your county | What Volusia County residents need to know before a storm]

As of Thursday at 4 p.m., there were no evacuations put in place in Volusia County. Recktonwald said that could change Friday.

"Our goal is by lunch time tomorrow, we should have enough information to make that call," said Recktonwald.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood also had a strong message for any criminals who want to take advantage of the storm, when the county is under a state of emergency. 

"If you insist to committing a crime, especially a burglary, that penalty will be enhanced," Chitwood said.

For more information and alerts from inside Volusia County EOC, click here.


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