Press Releases

UPDATE: Hurricane Milton Emergency Resources And Declarations – As of 1:00 PM

Washington, October 8, 2024

NAPLES, Fla. – Tomorrow, Hurricane Milton is projected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a major hurricane.

The office of Congressman Byron Donalds is closely monitoring Hurricane Milton and is actively coordinating storm preparations alongside federal, state, and local partners. The Congressman and his team stand ready to support our Southwest Florida community and ensure all necessary resources are available. Please see below for the latest emergency resources and declarations:

Southwest Florida Formal Evacuation Declarations:

Collier County Zones A&B – DEADLINE PASSED – 6:00 AM TODAY
- Collier County Evacuation Routes & Zones
Lee County Zones A&B – DEADLINE TONIGHT
- Lee County Evacuation Routes & Zones
Fort Myers Beach – DEADLINE PASSED – 3:00 PM YESTERDAY
- Lee County Evacuation Routes & Zones

Southwest Florida Shelters Open To Public:

Collier County General Population Shelters (OPENING AT 4:00 PM):
- Gulf Coast Hight School (NOT Pet-Friendly) – 7878 Shark Way
- Immokalee High School (NOT Pet-Friendly) – 701 Immokalee Drive
- Golden Gate High School (NOT Pet-Friendly) – 2925 Titan Way
- Corkscrew Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 1165 Oil Well Road
- Cypress Palm Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 4255 18th Avenue NE
- Golden Gate Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 2701 48th Terrace SW
- Immokalee Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 401 9th Street
- Oakridge Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 14975 Collier Boulevard
Collier County Special Needs Shelter (OPENING AT 2:00 PM):
- Palmetto Ridge High School (Pet-Friendly) – 1655 Victory Lane
  - NOTE: For Registered Special Needs Clients and Caregivers.
Lee County (OPEN NOW):
- Dunbar High School (Pet-Friendly) – 3800 Edison Avenue
- Estero Rec. Center (Pet-Friendly) – 9200 Corkscrew Palms Boulevard
- Island Coast High School (Pet-Friendly) – 2125 DeNavarra Parkway
- Hertz Arena (Pet-Friendly) – 11000 Everblades Parkway
- Gateway High School (Pet-Friendly) – 13820 Griffin Drive
- Oak Hammock Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 5321 Tice Street
- Tortuga Elementary (Pet-Friendly) – 1711 Gunnery Road N
- Treeline Elementary (Pet-Friendly) – 10900 Treeline Avenue
- Varsity Lakes Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 801 Gunnery Road N
- Alico Arena at FGCU (Pet-Friendly) – 12181 FGCU Lake Parkway E
- Harns Marsh Elementary School (Pet-Friendly) – 1800 Unice Avenue
- Harns Marsh Middle School (Pet-Friendly) – 1820 Unice Avenue
- East Lee Co. High School (Pet-Friendly) – 715 Thomas Sherwin Avenue
- Special Needs Shelter – Pre-register Here For Access

Emergency Hotlines:

Emergency Medical Services – 911
Collier County Emergency Hotline – 311 or (239) 252-8444
Collier County Emergency Management – (239) 252- 3600
Lee County Storm Hotline – 211
Lee County Emergency Management – (239) 533-0622
Florida Price Gouging Hotline – (866) 966-7226
Florida Division of Emergency Management – (850) 815-4000
Office of Congressman Byron Donalds – (202) 225-2536

Local Government Operations:

Collier County Government – CLOSED starting on Oct. 8th at 12:00 PM
Unincorporated Collier County Solid Waste Collection – CLOSED Oct. 9th
Collier Area Transit Operations – All Collier Area Transit fares will be waived until further notice and all service will be SUSPENDED starting on Oct. 9th.
Collier County Sandbag Operations – All operations have CONCLUDED.
Lee County Government – CLOSED starting on Oct. 7th at 12:00 PM
Lee County Solid Waste Collection – SUSPENDED starting on Oct. 8th
- Residents are asked not to place any additional waste to the curb.
LeeTran Operations – Transportation is available to shelters. People can go to any LeeTran stop and advise the driver that they need to go to an open shelter. They will be taken to a transfer center and then to a shelter. LeeTran suspended fares at noon today
Lee County Tolls – Tolls on Lee County bridges, the Cape Coral Parkway, Midpoint Bridge, and the Sanibel Causeway have been suspended.

School Closures:

Collier County Public Schools – CLOSED from Oct. 7th – Oct. 10th
School District of Lee County – CLOSED from Oct. 7th – Oct. 10th
Florida Gulf Coast University – REMOTE from Oct. 7th – Oct. 9th
Florida Southwestern State College – REMOTE Oct. 7th / CLOSED Oct. 8-9

Live Cameras:

Fort Myers Live Cam – View of Caloosahatchee River from Luminary Hotel

Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) Operations:

Tuesday, Oct. 8th – Contact Your Airline To Check Flight Status
Wednesday, Oct. 9th – CLOSED
Thursday, Oct. 10th – CLOSED
Friday, Oct. 11th – TBD
Rental Car Facilities – CLOSED Wednesday, Oct. 9th & Thursday, Oct. 10th
Parking – Main parking garage is full but long-term parking has availability.

State of Florida – Uber Partnership:

The Florida Division of Emergency Management has partnered with Uber to provide Floridians free rides to shelters in counties under a state of emergency for Helene.
How to get a ride:
- Open the Uber app
- Tap Account on the bottom right & tap Wallet
- Add promo code HELENERELIEF Up to $35 each way, to & from a state-approved shelter: http://FloridaDisaster.org/shelter-status/

Attention Residents of Fort Myers Beach:

LeeTran bus routes to Fort Myers Beach as currently SUSPENDED.
Lee County Utilities have SUSPENDED water service to Fort Myers Beach.
24 Hour General Curfew will go into effect at 10:00 PM TONIGHT.
Your Hurricane Re-entry Pass must be TEAL – Old passes will not work.
Once the storm passes, if you need assistance with re-entry, beginning at 7:00am on Thursday morning staff will be at two locations to hand out passes:
- Target – 15880 San Carlos Boulevard Suite 101
- Ace Hardware – 18911 S Tamiami Trail
Town Staff will be located at re-entry points to check for re-entry passes – If you do not have one, you will not be allowed on Island.

Weather Updates:

Other Emergency Resources: