St Augustine prepared for Hurricane Sandy

St Augustine Fire Chief Mike Arnold, the city’s emergency preparedness official, reported to Historic City News that as Hurricane Sandy continues to move north out of the Caribbean, the city is engaged in standard storm preparedness procedures.

As the City monitors the storm’s progress, city emergency personnel are expecting an increase in wind speed through Saturday with wind gusts and periodic rain bands coming on shore — some very heavy.

“We have open lines of communication with the St Johns County Department of Emergency Management,” Chief Arnold told reporters. “Even though today’s forecast calls for the storm to remain well east of the coastline, heavy rain and wind is expected as Sandy passes.”

Chief Arnold also advises that localized flooding is most likely at high tides. Today’s high tides were at 6:16 a.m. this morning and again at 6:38 p.m. tonight. Saturday’s high tides are at 7:01 a.m. and 7:23 p.m.

At this level of preparedness, the city ensures its fleet of trucks, heavy equipment and emergency generators are fueled and that lines of communication between departments are updated.

For the most up-to-date local information, the public is advised to visit the web site of the St Johns County Emergency Management at www.sjcemergencymanagement.com.