October 13, 2024

Sunday Update on Recovery Progress for Sumter County

Contact: Bradley Arnold County Administrator (352) 689-4400 [email protected]

Sumter County, FL –Sumter County, Utility Providers, and the Cities continue to work diligently to restore services and provide assistance to residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. These recovery efforts are focusing on critical areas including utility restoration, debris removal, and community safety.

Sumter County has received a presidential declaration for Individual Assistance (residents and businesses) and Public Assistance (Public Entities). To Apply for Disaster Assistance, please call 1-800-621-3362 or visit www.DisasterAssistance.gov

Utility teams have been working around the clock to restore services as soon as possible. For updates on recovery efforts, please visit the following:

SECO Energy: https://secoenergy.com/stormcenter/ or by calling 1-800-732-6141

Duke Energy: https://outagemap.duke-energy.com/#/current-outages/fl or by calling 1-800-769-3766

Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, Inc.: https://www.wrec.net/report-outage or by calling 352-567-5133

City of Bushnell – Report outages by calling 352-689-4400

Nineteen impacted roads were cleared since yesterday’s update. The following roads are still impacted by flooding in Sumter County.

CR 519A – underwater/flooded,

CR 569 – underwater/flooded,

CR 652 A – underwater/flooded,

CR 682 – underwater/flooded,

CR 426B – underwater/flooded,

CR 426 – underwater/flooded,

CR 647C – underwater/flooded,

CR 647s – underwater/flooded by the Big Withlacoochee River,

CR 687 – underwater/flooded by the Little Withlacoochee River,

CR 696 – underwater/flooded by the Little Withlacoochee River, and

CR 681 – underwater/flooded by the Little Withlacoochee River.

Roads impacted by power lines.

Withlacoochee Electric

CR 645 – power lines, Working in the area today

Sumter County has announced its Debris Collection and Removal Plan. Residential storm-related debris should be piled up by October 20, 2024, in the right-of-way for pickup. Additional information is available at https://www.sumtercountyfl.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1336

For residents in The Villages® development area, please pay attention to the debris collection and removal instructions from The Villages District Government https://www.districtgov.org/PdfUpload/DEBRIS%20HAUL.pdf

For residents displaced by the storm or those concerned about being isolated by rising waters, Sumter County has a shelter available at Sumter County Fairgrounds, located at 7620 SR 471, Webster, FL. Information about what to bring to a shelter is available here: https://www.sumtercountyfl.gov/1109/Shelters

Two services are available that residents can use to get volunteer and hired professionals to help take care of clean up and repair activities. Residents and businesses can contact Crisis Cleanup at 844-965-1386 or Hope Florida at 833-GET-HOPE (438-4673). Both of these services can help individuals reach dedicated volunteers and qualified businesses with after-the-storm needs.

Sumter County is dedicated to ensuring the safety and recovery of our community. Residents can call or text Sumter County if they encounter non-life-threatening downed trees or have other concerns. Reports can be submitted to the Sumter County Citizen Information Center by calling 352-689-4400 or texting the information to 352-282-0573.

If you encounter a life-threatening situation, please call or text 911.

www.sumtercountyfl.gov