Flagler County still in 'state of emergency' for Hurricane Matthew

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners is expected to once again extend state of local emergencies for Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma.

Hurricane Matthew devastated the coastline in Flagler County when it struck in 2016. Homes were damaged, most people living on the coastline lost power and trees were knocked down.

“We lost a section of our parking lot and obviously A1A got pretty much destroyed,” said Kolton Shamp with High Tides at Snack Jacks in Flagler Beach.

When Hurricane Irma struck in 2017 there was widespread flooding, hundreds of homes were damaged, electricity was knocked out and an already compromised dune system on the barrier island was damaged even more.

Flagler County declared state of local emergencies after each hurricane to help with the recovery process. Every seven days, the declarations must be extended.

County officials said they continue to extend the state of local emergencies to request repayment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and for the dunes restoration project. Flagler County is repairing dune walkovers and installing an emergency berm along much of the coastline.

Shamp said he is happy to see things being repaired and wants the work to continue. “If they have to keep it longer to finish it then so be it.”