Ocala City Council members praised the efforts of linemen and city staff who responded to hundreds of power outages on Monday amidst 10 inches of rainfall produced by Hurricane Debby.

During Tuesday night’s regular meeting of the council, members took time during their final comments to commend the utility workers and staff who have been at the helm of the city’s response to Hurricane Debby, which pummeled Marion County for most of Monday.

“I believe that the staff did a super job,” said council member Ire Bethea, Sr. Bethea says he drove around in the weather and saw dozens of individuals making repairs.

Linemen setting up to fix power lines on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo: Ocala Electric Utility)
Linemen setting up to fix power lines on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo: Ocala Electric Utility)

“Everywhere I went, staff was there for the most part, working on [the problem]. All you directors, please make sure you let your staff know,” said Bethea of the exceptional response from staff.

Council member James Hilty, Sr., shared similar sentiments.

“I’d like to acknowledge everything that staff did to bring us through [the storm],” said Hilty. “I didn’t realize we had 10 inches of rain. That’s kind of amazing for this area. Every department did a great job in trying to handle this.”

Ocala Electric Utility lineman works to restore power to customers in the area. Photo Ocala Electric Utility
A lineman works to restore power on Tuesday. (Photo: Ocala Electric Utility)

On Monday, Ocala-News.com made several reports throughout the day detailing the response from utility workers from all of the major companies that service the area.

As of 5 p.m., there are still around 1,000 residences that are without power in Marion County.

Hundreds of outages were reported throughout the day across both the city and county. In most instances, responding utility crews were tasked with clearing large debris and trees from power lines before they could establish power.

The damages caused by Hurricane Debby appeared to be extensive. Although the exact figure is unknown, Ocala-News.com received photos from at least four dozen individuals of downed trees and property damage across the county.

Those photos showed hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to homes, farms, vehicles, and other property, including a Coca-Cola semi-truck and an emu farm.

If your property has sustained damage due to Hurricane Debby, take photographs and document the damage as safely as possible. To report damage to the Marion County Property Appraiser, file a report at the Marion County Property Appraiser Damage Assessment website or call 352-368-8300.

Jeremiah Delgado has lived in Florida for over 25 years, moving to the Sunshine State from Chicago, Illinois in 1999, just before his 11th birthday. While living in Winter Springs, Florida, Delgado attended...