ORLANDO, Fla. — In the heart of Central Florida, Orange County officials are sounding the alarm to make sure residents are prepared for the worst as they brace for Hurricane Milton’s impact.

Officials are urging everyone to get their preparations in order by Tuesday and to be hunkered down in time for the powerful hurricane’s expected landfall Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Orange County officials bracing for the worst of Hurricane Milton’s impact

  • Officials expecting widespread power outages, downed trees and localized flooding from the storm

  • State of emergency warnings for all levels of government issued for Orange County Monday

  • The county announced the opening of 11 emergency shelters as of Tuesday starting at 6 PM, with 3 shelters open for people with special needs

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the county is expecting widespread power outages, downed trees, and localized flooding.  

Demings praised residents for heeding the warnings after more than 100,000 sandbags were distributed throughout the county on Monday.

In preparation for Milton, hurricane warnings were issued for all Central Florida’s inland counties on Monday.

In Orange County, state of emergencies were issued for all levels of government.

“What that allows us to do is respond to operational demands or concerns from a fiscal perspective to take care of the needs of our community,” Demings said.

County officials announced the closure of various establishments on Wednesday and Thursday, including the Orange County Administration Building and all Orange County Public Schools.

They also announced the opening of 11 emergency shelters on Tuesday starting at 6 p.m., to accommodate thousands of people who need a safe place to stay during the storm. 

“We believe that with three shelters open for people with special needs coupled with the 11 that will be strategically located throughout the county, they will be in every quadrant of the county to allow people easy access to get to those shelters,” Demings said.

The county has partnered with LYNX to make public transportation free of charge for those needing to get to any one of the 11 shelters before Wednesday.

Demings also said the county has done everything in its power to help areas like Orlo Vista and the Range Road area that are more prone to flooding.

“We believe that with the capacity that we have there with all large retention ponds and pumping operations that we have around Orlo Vista area, that we have sufficient capacity to deal with this particular storm,” he said.

Officials at Duke Energy said they anticipate significant damage and widespread power outages from the storm, so 10,000 responders will be dispatched at various locations across the Sunshine State.

“We are preparing for more than 1 million power outages across the state — and just for perspective we serve close to a million here in the Central Florida area with 430,000 electric customers right here in orange county,” said Duke Energy Senior Communications Consultant Audrey Stasko.

To prepare for Milton, OUC officials say they are increasing restoration efforts to five times the normal size, with crews from other states coming in to lend a helping hand.

“Some in North Carolina are still without power or water almost two weeks later," said OUC Vice President of customer experience and sales Luz Aviles. "Therefore, mutual aid resources are traveling from states farther away to assist us than we normally call from."

Officials warned residents that it could take several days to restore power in affected areas — and it’s still too early to tell what will reopen on Friday, which will depend on the damage left behind by Hurricane Milton.