‘Be ready to move’: Officials in northwestern Florida’s Gulf Coast call for evacuations

Florida issues mandatory evacuations in flood zone areas

CEDAR KEY, Fla. – On Sunday, Tropical Storm Debby — forecast to strengthen into a hurricane — threatened to cause damage in northwestern Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Gov. Ron DeSantis warned Sunday morning flooding was certain with a Category 1 or 2 hurricane. Levy County’s island city of Cedar Key was forecast to take the biggest hit.

John MacDonald, the Levy County Emergency Management director, said his county issued mandatory evacuation orders for coastal communities and low-lying areas.

“We want them to run from the surge; hide from the wind,” MacDonald said.

The mandatory evacuation orders also applied to mobile homes and recreational vehicles, both vulnerable to the forces of a hurricane.

MacDonald had an urgent message for northwestern Floridians: “If you are in a surge zone, you need to move everything out of that surge zone, all belongings out of that surge zone including yourself. We are getting short on the timeline now so these messages are coming hard and fast, be ready to move.”

There were similar measures and calls for action in Citrus County.

“We’ve got about 20,000 plus people living over there in the flood zone and we want them to hear the warnings now while it is still safe to do so, while we are not dealing with rattlesnakes, water moccasins, alligators, or downed power lines,” Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast said.

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