The City of Hollywood is closely monitoring Hurricane Matthew and is encouraging residents to prepare for this storm system. The National Weather Service has placed Hollywood and all of Broward County under a Hurricane Warning.
As of the 5 pm Advisory Hurricane Matthew is still a strong Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph with higher gusts. Matthew is expected to remain at category 3 or stronger while it moves through the Bahamas and approaches the east coast of Florida. It is located 400 miles southeast of West Palm Beach and is moving northwest at 12 mph. This motion is expected to continue during the next 24 to 48 hours. On this track, Matthew will be moving across the Bahamas, and is expected to be very near the east coast of Florida by Thursday evening. The area could begin experiencing tropical storm force winds Thursday morning with Hurricane force winds possible Thursday evening.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles. Some fluctuations in intensity are possible, but Matthew is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through Friday.
A voluntary evacuation for areas east of US 1 and mobile home parks is in place. Residents are urged to continue monitoring the storm and use this time to complete all hurricane preparations.
-The City is not distributing or supplying sandbags, residents in flood prone areas should get sandbags from their local home improvement store.
-All residents and business owners should check their disaster kits, review their hurricane plans and remain informed.
-Make sure your emergency equipment, such as hurricane shutters and battery-powered radios, is in good working order.
-Ensure that you have enough emergency supplies, such as non-perishable food, water and medicine, for each person in your home to last for at least three days. This includes your pets.
-If you plan to evacuate, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to safely reach your destination and that you have all needed supplies. Broward County has opened 9 emergency shelters including 2 special needs shelters and an animal friendly shelter. Go to http://www.broward.org/Hurricane/Pages/Shelters.aspx
-Take steps to properly secure your home and outdoor items such as patio furniture, potted plants, grills, etc.
-Secure your gray garbage and blue recyclables in a safe, sheltered location so that they do not pose a hazard during a storm. The City’s solid waste and recycling contractor, Waste Pro, has cancelled regular collections for tomorrow, but will resume service when it is safe to do so.
-If your solid/commingled waste or recyclables collection date has passed this week, you should secure these items in a safe, sheltered location. The City will not be doing any special collections of bulky waste or yard waste.
City of Hollywood personnel are taking the following precautionary steps:
-Maintaining regular contact with the Broward County Emergency Operations Center and National Weather Service for storm updates.
-Ensuring that primary and auxiliary water pumps located throughout the City are working properly.
-Clearing storm drains. If you see a clogged storm drain, please clear it or contact the City at 954.967.4455 to report it.
-Preparing high profile and waterborne vehicles for emergency use.
-Readying barricades for deployment on flooded/impassable streets (if necessary).
-Preparing City facilities for Hurricane force winds.
-Preparing to fully staff the City's Emergency Operation Center
All City Administrative offices are closed and will remain closed on Thursday. The City's Community Centers are closed Thursday and Friday. The City has rescheduled Operation Paintbrush. The re-blended paint giveaway originally scheduled for this Saturday has been rescheduled to November 12. The monthly Beach Sweep Clean-up planned for this Saturday as well as the Italian Festival at ArtsPark have both been cancelled. Hollywood residents and business owners who have a question about government services before, during and after the storm can go to the Hurricane information section of the City's website or call the Broward County Emergency Management Hurricane Hotline at 954.831.4000 or 311.