[FONT=Arial,sanserif][FONT=Arial,sanserif][FONT=Arial,Tahoma,Verdana,sanserif]Date: 8/22/2008[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]GO AWAY FAY! [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]Andrew Metz, Destin Log [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]After a radical turn in the Atlantic, pesky storm eyes Panhandle[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]Meteorologists knew it was possible, but no one expected an “about face” from the latest tropical storm.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]Earlier in the week, it seemed that Tropical Storm Fay was going to make her away across Florida and out into the Atlantic. But early Wednesday,[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]Fay stalled off the coast of Daytona and has since made her way back over Florida.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]The storm that has already taken more than 50 lives in the Caribbean and caused heavy flooding throughout Florida, has been projected to be moving back across the state, with the eye headed for the Panhandle and Destin. As of late Thursday, Destin and Okaloosa and Walton counties were under a tropical storm watch.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]“If it stays mostly on land, we are expecting 20 to 40 mph winds and 15 to 20 inches of rain,” said Greg Kisela, Destin City Manager. “We are taking the necessary precautions for such conditions.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]As of 7 a.m. Friday, Fay was continuing westward over the northern Florida Peninsula and was located about 50 miles northeast of Cedar Key. On its current track, it will move near or over the coast of the Florida Panhandle Friday night or Saturday.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]The city has placed pumps in four areas of Destin that tend to have the heaviest flooding; Indian Trail, Indian Bayou, Heritage Run, and Mountain Drive.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]The city has also asked Waste Management to make Destin as clear as possible of trash in front of houses to make sure the harsh conditions cause as little debris as possible. Public Works officials were deployed around the city to clear out congested storm drains and secure city facilities.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]“If the eye moves more toward the water, we can expect some beach erosion,” said Kisela. “But right now, projections have most of the storm staying on land.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]No emergency management actions are anticipated at this time. Okaloosa County County Emergency Management will be participating in the NHC and State EOC conference call at 10:00 AM tomorrow[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]With Flash Flood Warnings for Okaloosa and Walton counties, Tropical Storm Fay is most definitely going to affect tourism for the weekend.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]“We don’t have much experience with these things,” said Jennifer Flemming of Abilene, Texas, as she carried her towel and a chair to the beach behind the Back Porch. “We are just going to keep watching the Weather Channel so we know when to get out of here.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]INFORMATION REGARDING TROPICAL STORM FAY AND WASTE COLLECTION FROM WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]At this time Fay is not anticipated to increase above Tropical Storm status, however as a slow moving storm we are anticipating and are planning for unprecedented rainfall. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]As safety continues to be our number one priority, we are asking you to inform your citizens that they should use good judgment with regards to placing their yard waste and household garbage out for collection. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]As in Central Florida, we anticipate that some roads will be flooded during and immediately after the storm passes through our area. Yard waste can easily be blown around and end up in storm drains, increasing the possibility of flooding and we encourage you to ask citizens to not place the yard waste out for collection unless the collection day is this Friday or Saturday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]For cart (and in some cases garbage can service) service we ask that you have the citizens not place their cart and cans out on Monday unless the storm has passed and it is safe to do so. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]At this time we are anticipating running the Friday and Saturday routes, however it has not been determined if we will be able to operate on Monday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]A determination will be made as soon as possible and we will confirm, via email, our intent. In areas where approval is required to alter the collections schedule we will confirm as soon as possible our intent to operate on Monday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sanserif]Please contact: Waste Management at 850-865-8482 if additional information.[/FONT]
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