WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - In Wakulla County, it's all hands on deck as officials get ready for Hurricane Irma to hit.
Hundreds have already been evacuated from the coastal areas and now, everyone else is being told to stay inside for at least the next two days.
The emergency operations center here is in full, 24-hour mode as officials from all over get rest for Irma to make landfall in Wakulla county.
The National Guard, Florida Highway Patrol, and Coast Guard are all here helping in these final hours before the hurricane.
Wakulla's emergency management director says they're staying in 24 hour mode for the foreseeable future because they don't expect the damage from this storm to be minor.
Wakulla County Sheriff Jared Miller tells WTXL they're also holding 4 to 5 briefings a day at this point, making sure they're up-to-date so they can keep the hundreds of people who have been calling in with questions up to date as well.
At this point, it's all about safety for the people who are left here in the county, riding out the storm.
"I want the citizens to be prepared for the worst. We take this very seriously," said Miller. "There's going to be some Highwinds, it's going to be a Highwind event. There are going to be trees down, there's gonna be power out. Expect to have your power out for at least a week."
Wakulla County has an emergency shelter set up at Crawfordville Elementary and Sheriff Miller says at last update, More than 200 people were there.
However that shelter holds 300, so emergency officials say there's still plenty of room – if you don't feel safe in your home as the storm is coming in, head to that emergency shelter and take cover there.
