At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Orange County officials reported they are still assessing the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, but early findings show the county “fared very well.”
County Mayor Jerry Demings said the region received only about two inches of rain. There are no floods and no downed power lines reported.
“There are no storm-related deaths or major injuries being reported at this time. We also have no major damages being reported within our community." Demings said. "That does not mean, however, that there are not some individuals who incurred minor damages."
Demings said the Orlando Utilities Commission reported just 28 power outages, while Duke Energy had over 500 outages, with more than 300 of them already restored.
He said the county has been moved down from a tropical storm warning to a wind advisory and suggested locals wait for the winds to subside before engaging in debris pick up.
The county mayor also said as waste management pick-up services were suspended today due to the storm, a makeup day for solid waste curbside service has been scheduled for this Saturday morning.
According to Demings, hundreds of Central Florida first responders, spanning 12 departments in several cities and counties, are being deployed to the Tampa area to help with search, rescue, and recovery efforts in some of the hardest-hit areas of Florida.
