St. Lucie Monitoring, Preparing For Tropical Storm Erika
St. Lucie County’s Public Safety Department continues to work with local and state government agencies to monitor the potential impacts of Tropical Storm Erika. Because of the uncertainty of the storm’s path and potential strength, decisions regarding closures of schools and government buildings won’t be made until Saturday afternoon.
St. Lucie County Public Safety staff has been and will continue to participate in daily conference calls with the National Hurricane Center, Florida Division of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service in Melbourne. Staff is holding daily meetings with officials from the schools (St. Lucie Public Schools and Indian River State College, local government agencies (City of Fort Pierce, City of Port St. Lucie and South Florida Water Management District) as well as first responders (St. Lucie County Sheriff, St. Lucie County Fire District, Fort Pierce Police Department and Port St. Lucie Department) and the Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County.
U.S. Congressman Patrick E. Murphy is scheduled to visit the Douglas M. Anderson Emergency Operations Center to talk with St. Lucie County Commissioners, Public Safety staff and other key decision makers about the projected path of Tropical Storm Erika Saturday, Aug. 29 at 9:30 a.m. The Emergency Operations Center is located at 15305 E. Midway Road.
As for the 11 a.m. update Friday, St. Lucie County is not expected to have hurricane strength winds. However, there is still the potential for Tropical Storm force winds arriving late Sunday through Tuesday.
St. Lucie County and other agencies have already begun making preparations for tropical storm activity, including staging pumps and heavy equipment in key locations around the county. State and local officials encourage residents and businesses to take precautions and follow any protective actions that are issued. For a list of suggested supplies and preparedness tips visit www.floridadisaster.org.
The St. Lucie County Code Compliance meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 2 has been canceled. Announcements regarding St. Lucie County government and school closures will be sent out to local media outlets, as well as communicated through various government agency websites and social media outlets.
St. Lucie County’s website www.stlucieco.gov; Facebook: www.facebook.com/StLucieGov and Twitter @StLucieGov.
