Tuesday Update: Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry lifts evacuation orders from Irma

Jacksonville, FL — With Irma well out of our area now, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is officially lifting the mandatory evacuation orders, clearing the way for families to return home.

But, it was a much different story on Monday, Curry calls it a 'rescue day' as first responders pulled at least 356 people from severe flooding.

"When we started our morning, we had information that we had Category 3 storm surge in a tropical storm. First responders just did their jobs, I'm so proud of them. But the work continues, if anybody is on a second floor or somewhere on a road that continues to be flooded and they thought they were going to wait this out, call (904) 630-CITY and we will come get you," says Curry.

With all the rescues, Curry says if he's forced to issue mandatory evacuations orders in the future, he hopes people take them seriously, because next time they might not be able to help.

"During the height of the storm, I think it's important for people to know, had those floodwaters started rolling into people's home, had that surge happened in the storm, people would have been on their own," says Curry.

The mayor says the focus going forward is on cleaning, rebuilding, and getting back to normal.

"We have the financial resources to start the rebuilding process as we work with FEMA and the state. Senator Marco Rubio called me a number of times leading up to and yesterday. The President's team, the President, has directly been speaking with the governor, the governor relaying through me. My contacts at the White House have directly reached out to make sure we have that connectivity to make sure we have the resources we need," says Curry.

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