News Update for 9/26/24
Highlands County is under a Tropical Storm warning and is also under a Flood Watch until Friday, Sept. 27 at 8 a.m. According to the latest update- the Emergency Operations Center is at a Level 2 activation. The Highlands County call center will be open today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can call 863-402-6800. No shelters are open at this time. The main time for anticipated impacts began early this morning and will last throughout much of the day up until 12 a.m. on Friday. The storm is forecast to quickly leave the area late today/early Friday. Additional rounds of heavy rainfall are expected this weekend and our area may see 3-6 inches of rain which may cause localized flooding in low-lying areas.
The closures for Highlands County are as follows: All Highlands County Schools, but they are expected to resume normal operations on Friday. South Florida State College will resume operations on Monday, Sept. 30. All Florida Department of Health offices will be closed and will remain closed until further notice. Highlands County government offices are closed, including the Landfill and the Sebring recycling drop-off center. For WASTE CONNECTION CUSTOMERS: Thursday and Friday’s garbage/yard waste pickup will be delayed one day. For Other garbage collection services: in Lake Placid – Thursday commercial will be collected on Friday and Friday residential and commercial will be Friday as usual; For Sebring they are following the County; Avon Park – no garbage pickup today. The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office and Sebring Police Department are closed and only have essential personnel working. All Highlands County court and district offices are closed. The Spring Lake Improvement District office is also closed. All South Florida Water Management lands are closed and will reopen at 6 a.m. Friday, all District boat locks will reopen on Friday as well. All Highlands County public parks and The Preserve are closed as well as Highlands Hammock State Park, which will reopen on Saturday.
A precautionary Boil Water Notice for all residents of Avon Park Lakes was issued yesterday. At this time, the exact location of the break is unknown, so as a result the entire area is affected. Effective Immediately: All water used for drinking, cooking, making ice, brushing teeth, or washing dishes should be boiled. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient. Alternatively, you may use bottled water. The Boil Water Notice will remain in effect for the next 72 hours.
Recently, a settlement was reached in a lawsuit involving the former SunTrust building in downtown Sebring. NC Sebring, LLC, who filed the suit in December 2020, cited a host of maintenance issues. The suit filed stated that Sebring BNK Investors entered into a lease agreement with Huntington National Bank in late 1998. In 2001, Suntrust purchased Huntington’s Florida banking operations assuming the obligations of the lease. Subsequently, the suit claimed that SunTrust then allowed the leased premises and its grounds to deteriorate significantly by ignoring upkeep and necessary repairs. Truist became the defendant in the case after a bank merger with Suntrust in 2021-2022. A notice of settlement was filed in Highlands County Circuit Count on September 18th showing that both parties had agreed to settle the entire case.
Parts of Central Florida are under a Tropical Storm Warning, including Highlands County. The National Weather Service issued the warning yesterday. Winds could reach 35 miles an hour with gusts up to 50 miles an hour. The NWS warns there is the potential, though, for stronger wind that could threaten life and property. Also, up to three inches of rain is expected. Helene is expected to make landfall tonight along the Big Bend to the eastern Panhandle as a Category Three or Four storm.
Some cruise passengers could be temporarily stuck at sea because of Helene. Port Canaveral announced last night that ships due to arrive today will be delayed. Those delays will likely impact departures tomorrow and Saturday. Passengers are advised to contact their cruise line. The port is closed and has ceased many operations until further notice.
Flights are being cancelled or delayed across the Southeast as Hurricane Helene approaches the Florida Gulf Coast. As of last check, more than eleven-hundred flights were cancelled in the U.S., many of them into or out of Tampa International Airport. Nearly 400 flights have been delayed, according to flight tracker FlightAware. Helene is set to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region tonight.