Updates from the Bay County Emergency Operations Center
9/26/2022 update as of 2:50 pm
Updates from the Bay County Emergency Operations Center – Hurricane Ian
The Bay County Emergency Operations Center hosted a press conference earlier today to give a briefing on Hurricane Ian. Bay County will potentially receive heavy rainfall from this storm and officials ask residents to stay weather aware at this time. The best place to find updates are through local media teams, National Weather services, and Bay County social media (Bay County, Florida Emergency Services).
The Citizens Information Center is currently activated and officials are asking residents to direct any storm-related calls there, and not 911. They can be reached at 850-248-6090. This allows dispatchers to continue to focus on emergency situations.
The best place to stay up-to-date on the emergency notifications in Bay County is to subscribe to Alert Bay here.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Where are the shelters and are they open?
The shelters for Bay County are Dean Bozeman, Northside Elementary, and Deer Point Elementary. At this time, shelters are not open, but you can sign up for Alert Bay at alertbay.org for up-to-date notifications when changes occur.
Where are the Sandbag Locations?
Lynn Haven: Lynn Haven Sports Complex.
Callaway: Across the street from the Public Works Building (324 S Bertha Avenue, Callaway, Fl. 32404).
Mexico Beach: Outside City Hall, for help contact the Mexico Beach Fire Department at 850-258-4682.
Bay County: Deer Point Dam.
Panama City Beach: Frank Brown Park at the clay parking lot and Pete Edwards Field (McElvey Rd.)
Springfield: Callaway Location.
Sand will be available starting on Tuesday, September 27th. Anyone that needs sand will need to bring their own bags and shovel to any of these locations.
When will the bridges be closed?
The Florida Highway Patrol will be monitoring wind speeds at all Bay County bridges and they will determine when it is appropriate to close bridges. You can sign up for Alert Bay at alertbay.org for up-to-date notifications when there are any bridge closures.
When will evacuations be ordered?
There are no evacuations planned at this time, but you can sign up for Alert Bay at alertbay.org for up-to-date notifications on possible evacuations, as well as stay up to date with your local news and radio stations.
Deer Point Dam Drawdown?
The Bay County Public Works has begun the drawdown of the Deer Point Reservoir in anticipation of heavy rains later this week from Hurricane Ian.
