FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Brie Turek- 407-383-2073
Laura Bornfreund- 407-383-6822

CITY OF ORLANDO HURRICANE WILMA UPDATE

ORLANDO, FL (October 24, 2005) Mayor Buddy Dyer urges all citizens and visitors in the City of Orlando to be cautious in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma. Feedback from the initial assessment shows only minor damages to the area, but now that the storm has passed, City departments will conduct comprehensive damage assessments. Mayor Dyer has assembled a group of response experts from the City police, fire, public works, transportation, and code enforcement and has tasked them with post storm assessment.

At 3:00 p.m. today, the City’s Office of Emergency Management will move to level 2 activation and is expected to return to the level 3 monitoring status at 5:00 p.m.

“We have been in dialogue with our community partners including Orange County Public Schools, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, GOAA, OUC, and LYNX,” said Mayor Buddy Dyer. “The City is ready and willing to support our local agencies in recovery efforts.”

In an effort to support affected areas, Central Florida Task Force 4- the Urban Search and Rescue Team- a collaborative group of the City of Orlando, Orange County and Seminole County Fire Departments, was deployed this afternoon to Southwest Florida to assist with Hurricane Wilma recovery efforts.

“Orlando was fortunate with Hurricane Wilma, but the City is on standby and is prepared to provide assistance to the impacted regions throughout Florida,” stated Mayor Dyer. “After the assistance we received during last year’s storm season, we are more than willing to assist other Florida cities in recovery efforts.”

Orlando City government will reopen on Tuesday, October 25th, for normal operations. Monday’s Orlando City Council meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 26th, at 2:00 p.m.

Regular scheduled garbage pick up will resume Tuesday, October 25th. For citizens that have regular garbage pick-up on Monday, the next collection will be on the regular Thursday schedule. Please DO NOT put debris in the street because this will block the roadways and clog drains.

Additionally, fewer than 2,000 OUC customers are without power, and OUC is making necessary repairs. To report power outages, please contact OUC at 407-823-9150.

For more information, please visit the City of Orlando Web site at www.cityoforlando.net.

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