FORT MYERS — All city offices in Fort Myers will close Thursday, a decision council members made at an emergency special meeting.
I'm your Fort Myers community correspondent Miyoshi Price, getting updates for you on how the city is ready for any storm impacts.
Fire Chief Tracy McMillion and the city's emergency management team updated the council on the storm's direction.
They say they are preparing for the worst so they are ready for anything.
McMillion suggests getting waterproof containers for documents and preparing 72-hour prep kits.
Plus, take video and pictures of your home and vehicles before the storm.
Always know your zone and move important items off the ground.
Public works director Peter Bieniek says even though the offices will be closed, public works and police will be out monitoring and closing down roads if needed.
He says he expects the normal flood zones to flood but sewer and drains have been cleaned this week.
"We clean storm drain grates. We look through them, make sure that they're open so water can flow," says Peter Bieniek, Director of Public Works for the City of Fort Myers. "We take a look at our ditch lines and swales, make sure they're open and cleared. [The] city has a certain number of canals that have weirs on them. We've evaluated them; we've looked at the current water levels in them. We've adjusted the appropriate weirs to allow water out so we have a little bit of retention left in them, so that that way, when we do get the heavier rains, we can manage it."
City officials are reminding residents not to pull trash bins to the curb Thursday. Friday and Saturday are the designated make-up days for trash pick-up.
