Citrus County Sheriff’s Office – During a storm, stay up to date with official information on the Citrus County Sheriff’s Facebook PageLinks to External Site, opens in new tab..

Citizen Information Line – The Citizen Information Lines are activated when there is an Emergency situation and is manned by communications officers from the Sheriff’s Department, and supplemented by Library Staff. They are there to answer your questions or direct you to where you need to be looking, and if they don’t know an answer, they’ll get one for you! Call: 352-249-2775 or 352-249-2776 or 352-249-2777 (only available during emergencies or disasters).

Transportation Lines – If you live in an evacuation zone and don’t have transportation to get to a shelter, you can contact the Transit Office at 352-527-7630, or their hotline (which is only activated during an emergency situation) at 352-527-7633.

Duke Energy – Stay up to date with the Duke Energy Outage MapLinks to External Site, opens in new tab. or call them at 1-800-228-8485 to report an outage.

Withlacoochee Electric Company – Stay up to date with the Withlacoochee Electric Company Outage MapLinks to External Site, opens in new tab. or call them at 352-795-4382 to report an outage.

SECO Energy – Stay up to date with the SECO Energy Outage MapLinks to External Site, opens in new tab. or call them at 352-726-3944 to report an outage.

Unplugging electronics and appliances can help keep your equipment safe in the event of a power surge or if there is a risk of flooding in your area. In the event a flood warning, consider moving your electronic devices to higher ground in your home.

In addition to making physical preparations, stocking up on non-perishable food items, batteries/flashlights, gas or generators, ice, etc., you can also make plans using the technology that you already have.
Many of us rely on our phones to access information. During an emergency, especially during an extended power outage, conserving battery life and recharging cell phones are essential.

Adjusting your device settings is an important step to conserving your battery. If the power is out, try turning off the following:

WIFI – If you have no power, you don’t have WIFI. Your phone will still try to scan for WIFI even if there is none available.
Bluetooth – In an emergency, Bluetooth is a luxury and not a necessity.

Adjust the brightness of your devices, use a low power mode if possible, and limit use in order to conserve power.

Items you should have in the event of a power outage include charging devices such as car chargers, or a USB charger for your vehicle. Other items to consider include Portable Chargers/Power Banks. If you travel to a location with power such as a neighbor or one of our Libraries, consider taking a power strip with you. This will allow you have charge multiple devices at once, save time, and could help others in the same situation.