On September 26, 2022, during a Special Meeting of the Brooksville City Council, city leaders declared a State of Emergency due to the impending Hurricane Ian.  The State of Emergency will remain in effect for a period of seven (7) days.  

Following is information related to the declaration: 

Immediate Local State of Emergency declared for the City of Brooksville and Hernando County for a period of seven (7) days. 

City of Brooksville declares State of Emergency regarding Hurricane Ian

Voluntary evacuations are recommended beginning today, Monday, September 26, 2022. 

Mandatory evacuations tomorrow, Tuesday, September 27, 2022, beginning at 9:00 am for all properties west of US 19 to include all mobile/modular homes and low-lying areas county-wide. 

Evacuation Shelters will open tomorrow, Tuesday, September 26, 2022 at 9:00 am as follows: 

• Enrichment Center Inc. of Hernando County (ECI), 800 John Gary Grubbs Blvd, Brooksville, FL 34601 – General population and pet friendly 
• Challenger K-8, 13400 Elgin Blvd, Spring Hill, FL 34609 – Special Needs Only 
• Explorer K-8, 10252 Northcliffe Blvd, Spring Hill, FL 34608 – General Population and pet friendly 

All local, to include the City of Brooksville, government offices/facilities, parks and cemeteries will be closed beginning tonight at 5:00 pm through Monday, October 3 at 8:00 am. 

At this time, the City of Brooksville and Hernando County is forecasted to have significant impacts as follows: 

• Winds >35 mph are anticipated, no special needs bussing will be available at that point 
• Storm Surge anticipated >10 ft  
• Rainfall potential >/= 10 inches (a 100-year storm event) 
• Flooding expected to include rivers/ponds 
• Tornadoes potential 

 The City sandbag site is open and will remain open until further notice for City of Brooksville residents.  The self-serve site is located at 600 S. Brooksville Ave. and is open 24-hours a day. Residents are asked to only take what they need and leave the shovels for the next resident to use. There is a limit of ten (10) bags per resident. To be considered a resident, individuals must reside within the City limits of Brooksville.  All individuals that reside outside the City Limits, are encouraged to utilize the Hernando County Sandbag Sites.  

Sanitation will be in emergency mode during the closure; all garbage pick-up will resume routes on Monday October 3, 2022, recycling is anticipated to resume on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. 

The City of Brooksville’s Streets Department is sweeping streets and clearing storm drains to in anticipation of the upcoming storm and the Utilities Water/Wastewater Divisions are fueling generators and preparations are underway to limit water and sewer disruption.  The normal on-call procedures will be in place during the course of the closure.  

Residents may call (352) 540-3860 for water related emergencies. The Department of Public Works, to include Utilities, will not respond to any calls when there are dangerous or hazardous conditions.  We will address all issues once the storm has passed, and it is safe to resume all repairs and road clearing.    

The City of Brooksville encourages residents to act immediately to prepare yourself, friends, and family if you plan to stay and ride out the storm or, if need be, make the necessary arrangements to evacuate to a safer locale.   

For storm related information, please visit the Hernando County Emergency Operations website at: https://www.hernandocounty.us/departments/departments-a-e/emergency-management or (352) 754-4083; the recorded message line is available at (352) 754-4083. 

For more information about the declaration please contact Jennifer Battista, City Clerk, at (352) 540-3810 or jbattista@cityofbrooksville.us.  All other information, please contact Charlene Kuhn, Public Information Officer at (352) 754-4986 or ckuhn@cityofbrooksville.us