We will continue to update this post over the next few days as the storm approaches. 

Check out the Current Weather in Orlando Visit the National Weather Service for the most up-to-date information.

NEED GAS? CLICK HERE TO USE GASBUDDY.COM’S INTERACTIVE MAP. 

 

ORANGE COUNTY HAS ENACTED A CURFEW TONIGHT ENDING 7 A.M. SATURDAY
UPDATE: THE CURFEW WILL LIFT AT 2 P.M. FRIDAY

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Orange County has informed us that they are “currently evaluating and will provide an update around noon” concerning the state of the curfew. The curfew is currently meant to last until 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. The OPD has made a number of arrests this morning, related to violating the curfew.

In preparation for the approaching Hurricane Matthew, there will be a number of closures and updates from multiple agencies and groups across Central Florida. We will do our best to update this post throughout the storm, to keep you informed.

The most recent report by the National Weather Service  (8:08 p.m. Thursday) indicates that Hurricane Matthew is once again a Category 4 Hurricane. As of  5 p.m., the forecast for Hurricane Matthew calls for Tropical Storm force winds to begin tonight in Central Florida at 11 p.m. Hurricane force winds are expected to start tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. lasting until 11 a.m. with peak winds of up to 101 mph at 7 a.m. Tropical Storm force winds are expected to end Friday evening at 10 pm. The total duration of Tropical Storm force winds will be 23 hours.

The City of Orlando is asking residents to prepare an emergency kit including water (one gallon of water per person per day), food (a three-day supply), medication, battery powered radio, batteries and any special items needed like medications. Keep the items that you would most likely need during an evacuation in an easy-to carry container. For more information, suggested supplies and things to consider while preparing for a storm, visit cityoforlando.net/emergency/prepared.

Contact the Orlando Emergency Management Citizen Information Line at 407-246-4357 if you have questions but always dial 911 if it is an emergency. When sustained winds reach 50+ mph or wind gusts reach 65+ mph, the operations division chief may enact a No Response Policy.

CITIZEN INFORMATION LINE:
The City of Orlando has activated the citizen information line for non-emergency calls.  Citizens can call to get up-to-date information from the City of Orlando, report down trees, down power lines and any safety concerns to the City of Orlando by calling 407-246 – HELP (4357).

If you live in Winter Park, the following numbers are at your disposal:

Information regarding emergency preparedness for our special needs community may be found HERE.

If you suspect a merchant of engaging in price gauging, contact the Attorney General’s Office by calling 1-866-9-NO-SCAM
UPDATE: The City of Orlando has issued a Lake Alert for all lakes for the duration of Hurricane Matthew and directly afterwards.  Due to the storm, there is a high potential for water contamination, sewer overflows, active wildlife and other safety concerns.  Take extreme caution around all waterways during this time.

UPDATE: If your street sign has a fountain logo, you are a City of Orlando resident and can pick up sandbags until noon today at 1010 Woods Avenue. If you have an orange logo, you live in Orange County, and can pick up sandbags at the following locations:

  • Apopka – 3258 Clarcona Road
  • Bithlo – 18753 Old Cheney Highway
  • Goldenrod  – 2530 N. Forsyth Rd.
  • John Young  –  4200 S. John Young Pkwy.
  • Taft  – 11442 Intermodal Way
  • Three Points – 4631 Young Pine Road
  • West Orange – 644 Beulah Road
  • Zellwood – 3400 Golden Gem Road

UPDATE: Need to evacuate with your pets and can’t get in a shelter? Click HERE to see which shelters let you bring your pet with you, according to petfriendlytravel.com.

Five shelters: Odyssey Middle School, Apopka High School, Corner Lake Middle, Timber Creek High School and Barnett Park currently have availability. 7:18 p.m. Thursday

UPDATE: Orange County Fire Rescue personnel will go door-to-door tomorrow morning (Oct. 6) through various mobile home parks in Orange County to encourage evacuations.

What to Bring to a Shelter:

  • Water and food
  • Clothing and bedding
  • Personal items, medication
  • First-aid supplies
  • Important papers
  • Miscellaneous items like games, toys, battery-powered radios, flashlights and batteries

 

CANCELLATIONS, CLOSURES, AND UPDATES

CITY AND COUNTY SERVICES, HEALTH, AND PUBLIC SPACE

  • The City of Orlando free sandbag program is handing out sandbags until 7 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) and from 7 a.m. to noon on Thursday at 1010 Woods Avenue. See above for more information for County residents. 
  • Curbside trash collection in unincorporated Orange County will not occur on Friday, but will instead by collected on Saturday. Same now applies for Orlando residents.
  • All Winter Park and Orlando recreation centers will close Thursday.
  • All non-emergency city facilities in Winter Park and Orlando will close Friday.
  • The City will open the Jefferson Street garage starting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 6 for any resident who would like to park their car in a covered garage.  All cars should be removed by 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 8 dependent on weather.
  • Greenwood Cemetery will be closed until Saturday, following a safety check that morning.
  • Florida hospital, Orlando Health, Nemours Children’s Hospital, and the Orlando VA Medical Center will remain open during the hurricane.
  • VisitOrlando has compiled a list of hotels that have room for evacuees. Click HERE to see them. Be sure to ask the hoteliers if they have any special rates due to the storm.
  • Orlando Union Rescue Mission will be operating as a homeless shelter.
  • OUC will suspend power disconnections during the storm.
  • Social Security Hearing office will be closed through Tuesday, October 11.
  • Orange County Property Appraiser’s Office will be closed through Monday, October 10.
  • Orange County Animal Services will close today (Thursday).
  • Orlando Health is on lockdown. Anyone in the hospital must stay there until the end of the storm.

ROADS, TRANSIT, AND MOBILITY

  • The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 5 has halted construction work on all FDOT projects on Interstates, Limited Access facilities, coastal and evacuation route roadways effective immediately in preparation for the approaching Hurricane Matthew. UPDATE:  Contractors are also opening travel lanes, removing all non-critical barricades, signs and drums. Those devices that must remain in place to protect traffic switches or drop offs will be reinforced to account for the expected high winds. Workers may be present in construction zones while they secure the area.
  • All tolls on the 528 will be suspended until further notice. UPDATE: The Beachline is currently backed up with 15 miles of heavy traffic. 
  • UPDATE: All LYNX services will continue to be provided as scheduled until further notice – as of 4 p.m., October 5 now be suspended at 5 p.m. on Thursday. All vehicles will be off the road by 8 p.m. There will be no service on Friday.
  • The Orlando International Airport is expected to begin limiting flights to Orlando early Thursday. Some international flights have already begun being cancelled. Flights are expected to resume normal scheduled patterns on Saturday, but all flights are subject to each individual airline. UPDATE: OIA will cease commercial operations at 8 p.m. tonight (Thursday).
  • If wind speeds reach 45 mph, SunRail will suspend operations. SunRail will cease operations on Thursday afternoon. The last southbound train will depart DeBary at noon, and the last northbound train will leave Sand Lake at 1:15 p.m.
  • CFX will suspend all construction-related closures starting at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 5. CFX is also taking precautions to secure construction work-zones and reinforce erosion control measures.
  • Orlando Sanford International Airport will cease domestic commercial flights starting at 10am Thursday
  • Fashion Square Mall will refrain from towing cars left in their garage during the storm.
  • Amtrak is temporarily suspending services in “the South” according to recent Tweet. UPDATE: The “South” means Florida to North Carolina.
  • Flooding in the street on 17-92 between 23rd Street and 25th Street in Sanford.

SCHOOLS

  • All Orange County schools will be closed Thursday and Friday.
  • UCF will suspend classes at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and close the campus for Thursday and Friday.
  • Valencia College will be closed Thursday and Friday.
  • Classes cancelled at Rollins College for Thursday and Friday. Olin Library is closed.

EVENTS, PARKS, AND BUSINESSES

  • The 43rd Annual Autumn Art Festival has been cancelled. The festival will not be rescheduled.
  • 1st Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art will be rescheduled to October 19. UPDATE: The museum will now be closed Thursday and Friday. 
  • Legoland Florida will close Friday.
  • SeaWorld Orlando will close Friday. Aquatica will close Thursday and Friday.
  • Discovery Cove to close during storm.
  • Spooky Empire to continue as planned cancel Friday events.
  • The Garth Brooks performance has been rescheduled for Sunday, October 9.
  • Booktoberfest at the Orange County Library is now cancelled.
  • Orange County Libraries will close all branches at 1 p.m. on Thursday, and remain closed on Friday as well. Branches are scheduled to reopen on Saturday for normal business hours.
  • Come Out With Pride has cancelled both their Pride Launch Party at the Abbey, and their Church Street Block Party. Saturday events are still scheduled to take place but a decision will be made on Thursday, following updated forecasts.
  • Disney’s Blizzard Beach will be closed. It’s the first Disney property to be closed due to the storm. UPDATE: Typhoon Lagoon is now also closing for the duration of the storm.
  • An Orlando Exchange: A Living Wage at the Church Street Exchange has been canceled.
  • GBs Bottle Shop grand opening celebration is cancelled.
  • Parliament House’s Breathe fundraiser for Thursday and Friday night are cancelled.
  • Ensemble AMF at the Timucua White House has been cancelled.
  • The Thursday and Friday performances of Rock of Ages at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center have been cancelled.
  • West Side Story at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater has rescheduled their Thursday performance to Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
  • Mall at Millenia to close at 3 p.m. Thursday.
  • Whole Foods Market will close Orlando and Winter Park locations on Thursday.
  • Leu Gardens will be closed through Saturday, October 8.
  • Wall Street Plaza will close Thursday night, and reopen at 8 p.m. Friday, weather permitting.
  • Crealde School of Art will close through Monday, October 10.
  • Disney World cancels Thursday night Mickey’s Not So Scary celebration.
  • Come Out With Pride celebrations postponed until November.
  • Spooky Empire has cancelled their weekend events.
  • The Orlando Eye will close for the storm.
  • Universal Orlando to close parks and CityWalk tonight at 5 p.m. and remain closed on Friday. No Halloween Horror Nights.
  • Orlando Fashion Square Mall, including Premiere Cinemas 14, to close at 3 p.m. Thursday.
  • SAK Comedy Lab is closed for the duration of the storm.
  • Walt Disney World shutting down at 5 p.m. Remaining closed Friday as well.
  • 4Rivers is closing  the Cop, and their locations in Downtown, Winter Park, Winter Garden, Longwood, East Orlando, and Kissimmee this afternoon and all day Friday.
  • Florida-LSU game postponed due to Hurricane Matthew

 

POST-HURRICANE SERVICES

  • Planet Fitness locations are offering their facilities for free hot showers for those without power.
  • The Daily City Food truck Bazaar is offering food services to areas affected by the hurricane. “We will do all we can to assist those in need with hot meals for sale as long as our food truck owners are not put in danger. Text 407-308-1417 with requests after Matthew hits.”
  • OUC crews are now mobilized and will begin actively responding to power outages within the next hour in Orange County. As of 10:15 a.m., there were 17,600 customers without power. Before the storm hit, OUC brought in hundreds of additional resources including line technicians and tree trimmers from as far as Texas and Pennsylvania.
  • Volunteer Florida is registering volunteers to serve in impacted areas following Hurricane Matthew. If you are interested in volunteering, please register using the form below and we will contact you to connect you with volunteer opportunities. Click HERE to register.
  • LYNX has resumed limited service as of 2 p.m. Friday.
  • Salvation Army will begin sheltering women, children, and men experiencing sudden homelessness today at 2 p.m.

 

HURRICANE LIFE HACKS

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An easy way to fill those pickle buckets before the storm hits.

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Make a candle out of a can of Crisco
Make a lantern out of a headlamp
Make a lantern out of a headlamp and a water jug.
Make AAA batteries into AA with tinfoil. (We've never tried this).
Make AAA batteries into AA with tinfoil. (We’ve never tried this).
To flush your toilet, simply pour water into the back tank until it triggers. We recommend using rain water from outside.
To flush your toilet, simply pour water into the back tank until it triggers. We recommend using rain water from outside.

 

 

 

Brendan O'Connor

Editor in Chief of Bungalower.com

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18 Comments

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  1. Everything closed at noon today Marelize … I’m not aware of anyone still handing them out at this time. You may have better luck making them yourself with a plastic bag in a pillowcase.

  2. Absolute nightmare at sandbag station on 1010 wood street. People are cutting each other off and the city and police do not have this organized at all. They keep re-routing people which extends the lines even more

  3. We updated our post – “The City will open the Jefferson Street garage starting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 6 for any resident who would like to park their car in a covered garage. All cars should be removed by Friday, October 7 dependent on weather.”

  4. Bizarre! We heard that straight from the City. It must be happening tomorrow before the storm Melissa. We’ll try to find out what’s up!

  5. Do we have any further clarification regarding the Jefferson Street garage parking? We attempted to park there and the attendants had no idea what we were talking about… Also, thanks so much for doing this-super helpful!

  6. Not yet, but the ones we’ve seen in Mills 50 and Ivanhoe were still selling gas this evening

  7. They issued this statement earlier – Contractors are also opening travel lanes, removing all non-critical barricades, signs and drums. Those devices that must remain in place to protect traffic switches or drop offs will be reinforced to account for the expected high winds. Workers may be present in construction zones while they secure the area.