Walton County issues local state of emergency due to Subtropical Storm Alberto

May 27, 2018

Walton County Issues Local State of Emergency and Activate to Level 2; Shelter and Sandbag Stations to Open

The Walton County Board of County Commissioners has issued a Local State of Emergency effective beginning at 3:00pm CST May 27, 2018. With this Local State of Emergency, there are several actions that are being taken by the Department of Emergency Management. The Emergency Operations Center has moved to a Level-2 Partial Activation.

As part of this activation, the County is issuing a voluntary evacuation for any of those who live in mobile or manufactured homes or live in low lying areas. In order to assist those who wish to evacuate, we will be opening a General Population shelter beginning at 6:00pm this evening that will be located at Freeport High School located at 12615 US Highway 331 Business, Freeport, Fl.

Additionally, the Emergency Operations Center has activated the Citizen Information Center that can provide information to the public. The Citizen Information Center can be contacted at 850-892-8392 or 850-892-8394.

At this time, the US 331 Clyde B. Wells Bridge is open. Due to the possibility of sustained Tropical Force Winds throughout the night and the duration of Monday, there may become a need for the closure of the bridge. The US 331 Bridge and other bridges in the area will be closed in the event that we receive sustained Tropical Storm force winds at or in excess of 40 mph. Please note that there may be little to no notice of a closure.

The County requests that all residents and visitors make the necessary plans in the case of a bridge closure.

Walton County is currently offering sand and bags at the following two locations and the public must bring their own shovels.

Please continue to monitor the Emergency Management Department’s social media pages and your local media for future updates.