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County emergency director urges island residents to prepare now for hurricane season
Summary
Saint Johns County emergency operations director outlined how forecast cones, storm surge forecasts and evacuation procedures work, repeated a 30-day waiting period for flood insurance, and urged residents to make an evacuation plan and sign up for Alert St. Johns.
Miss Wilson, director of St. Johns County Emergency Operations, told the St. Augustine Beach City Commission on Aug. 4, 2025, that residents should prepare now for hurricane season and pay attention to more than the National Hurricane Center’s forecast cone.
Wilson said the National Hurricane Center is testing an “experimental” forecast cone this season and stressed that impacts often extend well outside the cone’s centerline. “A warning means you need to take immediate protective actions,” she said, explaining the distinction between watches and warnings.
Wilson walked commissioners and the public through storm-surge forecasting and local impacts. She used City Hall as an example: if a forecast cites “three to six feet at St. Augustine Beach City Hall,” that means three to six feet measured at the building’s elevation, she said. She also noted the Saffir-Simpson wind scale and explained that damage from a Category 3 storm and above becomes catastrophic for wind-exposed structures.
The director reminded residents that standard homeowners insurance does not cover rising water from storm surge or flooding and that flood insurance is a separate policy that requires about 30 days to take effect. “That policy will take 30 days to go into effect. So if you don’t have one, get on the Internet right after this meeting,” she said.
Wilson described practical preparations — trimming trees, securing loose items, checking roofs and gutters, buying and pre-fitting plywood, assembling a disaster kit and including pets — and recommended that residents identify friends or hotels in inland parts of the county outside evacuation zones as shelter alternatives. She said the county will open school-based shelters in partnership with the St. Johns County School District when evacuations are ordered and warned that shelters are typically set up in gymnasiums with basic food service.
On operational details, Wilson said the county’s Alert St. Johns system will be used for emergency notifications only and encouraged residents to sign up for targeted weather warnings while noting those alerts can arrive at night. She also described an online bridge-status page the county plans to use to show whether bridges are accessible, inaccessible, or conditionally passable following storms.
Several commissioners thanked Wilson; Vice Mayor Sweeney noted state changes making many preparedness-supply items permanently tax-exempt as of Aug. 1, 2025, and Commissioner George asked whether the mayor or another city official routinely represents the city at the county’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Wilson and the mayor said the mayor is typically the initial designee but that other commissioners or staff may attend as needed, and that unified messaging is pushed out from the county EOC via the county’s public-safety social feeds.
Why it matters: Saint Augustine Beach is a coastal community with evacuation zones and exposure to storm surge and wind. Clear local explanations of warnings, the 30-day lead time for flood insurance, shelter conditions and bridge-access information affect residents’ decisions about evacuation and insurance.
Looking ahead, Wilson encouraged residents to check evacuation zones, sign up for Alert St. Johns and review insurance policies. The county will continue public outreach and put bridge-access information on a county website if an evacuation is ordered.
