OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — Local hardware stores like W&W Lumber geared up for people living nearby to stock up on the essentials.
“Of course plywood to protect your home," hardware specialist Roger Woodruff said. "Generators for power outages and gasoline.”
Monday night, the Okeechobee County Emergency Operations Center was nearly empty, as the local state of emergency is set to expire on Friday.
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“The LSE is currently still in place but there’s no issues with anything of concern,” Earl Wooten, Okeechobee County public safety director, said. “No flooding, no damage or anything like that over the past couple of days since we put that in place on Friday.”
Officials said they were prepared with teams specializing in storm damage and a plan to open shelters if severe weather hits the county. They are also closely monitoring Lake Okeechobee for potential flooding events.
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"We are in constant contact with South Florida Water Management, we talk to them on a pretty routine basis," Earl Wooten, Okeechobee County public safety director, said. And even with this storm here, we talk with them ahead of time to make sure the Lake was ready and able to accept any type of rain that we may receive or receive any runoff from the north."
But, as we enter a very active hurricane season, officials using storms in the Big Bend and prior experience, like these images from when Hurricane Ian barreled through the rural county as a guide for future weather events.
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"Okeechobee County is extremely prepared for whatever emergency comes before us," Wooten said. "Whether it’s a hurricane, a flood or a fire. Whatever it may be, we have well trained staff and personel all over the county."
They added that whether you’ve lived in the area for decades or you’re new…make sure you have a way to get updates and check the latest on evacuation plans.
