Franklin County prepares for soon to be Hurricane Helene

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Franklin County authorities say if you feel unsafe about Helene, now’s the time to leave.

Once winds are sustained a 40 miles an hour, bridges will close. So if you live on St. George Island, you’ll be stuck and forced to shelter in place.

At some point, the storm is expected to become too dangerous for first responders to be on the roads.

“As long as we can safely get to whoever calls, we’re going to go. But if it’s 110 miles an hour wind, then we’re not going to be traveling. If the roads are four feet underwater, then we’re not going to be traveling. And that’s while we’re asking people, please evacuate now if you’re in a low-lying area,” Sheriff A.J. Smith said

Franklin County schools and government offices will be closed from Wednesday through Friday.

County officials are giving residents free sandbags to help protect their homes from flooding. Some business owners have started boarding up.

“Prepare your home, you know, cover your windows. Anything that’s on the ground that may be a flying object that could cause damage or danger to somebody, certainly move those things, put them away. And if you’re in a low-lying area, once your home is secure, go ahead and evacuate,” Smith said.

Helene is forecast to bring an extremely high storm surge, 10-15 feet in some areas. That will cause problems for places like the 10-foot-hole boat ramp.

“It looks like it is high water. We already see that the bays are already extremely high. I noticed this morning that it was up over the docks in some places,” Smith said.

Also, Smith is making arrangements to transfer inmates in case of flooding at the county jail. And if you do decide to stay, don’t go outside.

“If you didn’t evacuate but don’t be out riding around looking at the storm, hunker down, wait till it passes. And even after it passes, it’s not a good idea to be out because it could be downed power lines could be flooded area,” Smith added.

Sandbags will be available Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Vrooman State Park, the old Courthouse annex, and the St. George Island Firehouse. They will provide bags and sand, just bring your own shovel.

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