Where to find resources in Orlando after Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton barreled into Florida’s Gulf Coast near Siesta Key late Wednesday night as a Category 3 system that resulted in major destruction across the state.

More than 3 million Florida residents were left without power, including hundreds of thousands without power in Central Florida, as of Thursday morning.

As cleanup and recovery efforts throughout Florida begin, Orlando officials have released information and resources to aid residents. Due to flooding, debris and traffic light impacts throughout the city, the city encourages residents to continue to shelter in place. If you must travel, do not drive through standing water and treat downed traffic lights as four-way stops.

“Today, the city of Orlando is currently assessing neighborhoods for any damage and/or hazards in the community, including downed trees, traffic light disruption and power outages. We encourage residents to use caution when going outdoors as bodies of water can be electrically charged and/or contain debris,” the city said.

Here is a running list of helplines, information and advice available in and around Orlando. We will update the list as we gather more information.

Orlando online
City of Orlando website
City of Orlando Facebook
City of Orlando Facebook (Spanish)
City of Orlando Twitter

Citizen Information Line
The Citizen Information Line remains open and operational at 407-246-HELP (4357). Residents can call this line to report damage, downed trees or broken traffic lights and for information about city response efforts.

Power outages
Duke Energy outage map
Florida Power and Light outage map
Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) outage map

Some OUC customers have reported issues reporting power outages. Outages can be reported by calling 407-423-9018 or by texting “OUT” to 69682. If customers experience issues making contact, they can report to OUC via its social media channels (@OUCreliableone on X, Facebook and Instagram).

Water usage
The City of Orlando is requesting that residents continue to limit water use as the city’s Water Reclamation system is working at capacity. That means residents should refrain from doing laundry, washing dishes, taking showers and baths, and flushing toilets. Extra water use could put pressure on the system and lead to sewage overflow.

Cleanup
Hurricane Crisis Clean Up Hotline 844-965-1386

The city will begin debris pick-up Friday, Oct. 11. Residents can help speed up this process by placing debris at the curb (not in the street), bag and bundle yard waste, and separate yard waste from building materials.

City staff are continuing to remove trees, including at least 27 known blocked roadways.

Road closures/traffic lights
City of Orlando road closures map

At this time, the city reports 20 traffic lights without power, 24 with flashing lights and 360 without communication. Orlando Police Department is updating its X account to report some of the traffic alert sites.

The City of Orlando Transportation Engineering staff continues to work to restore power at impacted traffic lights. At this time, there are 20 devices without power, 24 with flashing lights and 360 without communication. This is out of a total of 408 devices. 

Parking garages
All cars parked in city garages for shelter from the storm should be removed by noon Friday, Oct. 11.

Parks and recreation
Crews are still assessing parks and city facilities for damage. After-school programs for enrolled students will reopen at all neighborhood centers at 7:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11.

City services
City Hall and other facilities will reopen Friday, Oct. 11 for normal business hours.

Food
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s food bank finder.

“We have taken inventory of the resources in stock at our warehouses in Brevard, Volusia, Marion and Orange County. Our team is collaborating with the Feeding America and Feeding Florida networks, emergency operations managers, and our local feeding partner network to ensure we are fully prepared to assist our community,” SHFB says.

FEMA
Apply for FEMA aid

Shelters
Floridadisaster.org/shelters

WiFi
Spectrum hotspot site map

Heart of Florida United Way
Local nonprofit Heart of Florida United Way’s 211 helpline is available for locals to use to find resources during the storm, assistance or just to talk to someone if they’re in need of support.

Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

This article appears in Oct 9-15, 2024.