OCALA, FL (352today.com) -The aftermath of Hurricane Milton by the numbers was presented to the Marion County Board of County Commissioners meeting Oct. 15.

Marion County Sheriff’s Office’s Emergency Management Director Preston Bowlin praised the collaboration and preparedness of local agencies. Bowlin commended the cities, townships, county administration, school board, law enforcement, fire rescue, healthcare partners, nonprofits, and residents for their coordinated efforts before, during, and after the storm. He emphasized, “Thank God Marion County was spared again.”

Hurricane Milton Statistics
  • Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm, bringing 120 mph winds and causing tornadoes.
  • Marion County experienced sustained winds of 33 mph, gusts reaching 44 mph, and received 9.42 inches of rain, as reported by the National Weather Service.
  • 26 requests from the state and preparations had resources in Marion County before the storm.
  • If Marion County had received a direct hit after the storm, there would have been mission requests and available resources.
  • Emergency medical teams, police units, and support camps are ready for what comes next.
Impact on Homes and Power from the Property Appraiser’s Office
  • 57 homes have been assessed, having sustained $1.9 million in damage.
  • As of the morning of October 15, there were 220,762 customers served by four power companies. The highest number of outages during the storm reached 75,000. Currently, 178 customers are still without power.
Shelter Operations
  • Seven shelters were opened, including one special needs shelter that allowed pets. There were also nine general population shelters, with two of them being pet friendly.
  • A total of 1,488 individuals found shelter, including 313 who were not residents of Marion County.
  • 192 pets were sheltered between all three pet-friendly shelters.
  • The Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau estimated that the county had around 37,000 additional residents staying in hotels, shelters, Vrbo, and Airbnb rentals.
Sandbag Distribution and Communications
  • 102,074 sandbags were distributed throughout the county and the city.
  • The Citizens Information Line handled 1,384 calls.

Bowlin thanked the Florida Horse Park and its Executive Director Jason Reynolds for providing a staging area for local, state, and federal emergency assets, mirroring their efforts during Hurricane Helene. The facility also contributed essential equipment like generators and pumps to the state.

Bowlin met with FEMA, which sent a representative to Marion County. They distributed bilingual information on how residents can apply for FEMA benefits due to storm-related damages.

Emergency Response Efforts

During the storm, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., the Marion County Sheriff’s Office received 718 service calls. Throughout the storm day, a total of 1,676 calls were handled by the Sheriff’s Office and communications center.

Animal Sheltering
  • The World Equestrian Center sheltered 2,400 large animals
  • The Southeastern Livestock Pavilion sheltered approximately 200

“One of the things that I love about Marion County, and I have been in other counties, is the way all our partners come together,” said Mark Lander, Florida Department of Health Marion County administrator. “Seeing the way the commissioners, the EOC, the way Mr. Bowlin operates the emergency operations center is second to none. I know from my perspective, anything that I’ve ever needed for the special needs shelters, you’ve all been fantastic in giving me the resources.”

First Responders’ Efforts

Marion County Fire Rescue (MCFR) Deputy Chief of Operations, Robert Krueger, provided an overview of their response efforts:

  • MCFR responded to more than 400 service calls. Usually, they get about 250 calls each day, with most being related to power lines. There were also over 120 commercial fire alarms, trees blocking roads, and around 30 trees that fell on houses.
  • All of the battalions were able to operate during the storm.
  • Eight fire stations faced power issues and switched to backup generators. Five of these stations also lost their computer systems and phones because of the outages. Now, everything is back up and running. MCFR is fully operational.
  • Chief Robert Graff, Public Information Officer (PIO) James Lucas, and Task Force 8, who had been deployed, are scheduled to return this week. They are currently in their demobilization process.
  • Chief Graff has been on duty since Oct. 5. He has overseen over 2,600 missions, organized 23 Urban Search and Rescue teams, and worked with 1,600 rescuers and technicians alongside water teams. Together, they have completed more than 1,800 rescues of civilians and 225 rescues of animals throughout the state.
  • PIO Lucas has been part of the incident management team, handling media relations for the state, historical documentation and coordinated VIP visits, and he has been instrumental in making sure the information from the state makes it to Marion County and the local regions.
  • Task Force 8 began their mission around 5 a.m. on October 10 and was sent to Hernando County for quick water recovery efforts.
  • They assisted 350 civilians, 48 animals and are in the process of working with another 164 people to make certain they are clear of any debris.
  • Chaplain Joe LaCognata was deployed to St. Lucie County to assist with mental health and wellness during the tornadoes and is still there.
  • Fire Marshal Ken McCann was deployed to Pinellas County to ensure as the area gets power back and running and that they’re not having any electrical issues.

Marion County officials reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring full recovery while maintaining their preparedness for future emergencies.