Village staff fights Milton flood threats as residents make final preparations

Hurricane Milton on its way and gaining speed Palm Beach County, preparations are well underway.

Tennis courts across the area have windscreens rolled up ahead of potentially tropical storm-force winds or higher. But, their main concern here in Wellington is flooding.

Five different pumps across Wellington are working right now to pump out thousands of gallons of water from Lake Wellington, Basin B and the canals to make room for an expected four to six inches of rain. Wellington Village Manager Jim Barnes tells me these are preparations they do every hurricane season, but what's interesting here is that they're preparing without over-preparation.

"If you over-prepare and lower those water levels too much, and you don't get the anticipated rain that you're expecting, you could end up with relatively dry winter coming in and as a result have lake levels and canal levels that are too low," Barnes said.

People in Wellington are still making sure they are over-prepared, as you won't find any water or paper towels in stock at the local Costco.

WPTV Reporter Michael Hoffman spoke with a couple of people that work the gas lines at Costco, who there was such a large line here yesterday that they could only let in people in groups. They also tell Hoffman that there has been a rush on all products since they opened this morning.

"No water," said shopper John Cottom, who came looking for supplies. "Not here. They said there were some this morning but people were lined up already before the doors opened."

Make sure you stay prepared with your 72-hour kit and follow the latest developments with the WPTV First Alert Weather Team.