St. Lucie County - Monday September 26, 2022: In anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Ian St. Lucie County’s Emergency Operations Center has been partially activated.
The Treasure Coast may avoid the worst of Hurricane Ian, but local officials are making preparations and advising residents to remain on guard, said Eric Gill, SLC Communications Director.
"Right now we are at a level 3, which is a partial activation," said Gill. "Essentially (its) just the emergency management crews that are out there at the EOC. They’ve been on daily briefing with the state emergency operations center as well as the National Weather Service as well as the Federal emergency operations folks to coordinate an effort throughout, not just the state but our community, in whatever resources we may need.”
Level one is the highest level of activation but that is not expected to become necessary for the Treasure Coast during this storm. “At this point we are expecting to see some potential tropical force storm winds and at least 3 to 6 inches of rain as a result of the storm when it makes landfall. Of course, it is still a little early and that path and those projections could change between now and Wednesday.”
Flooding from the rains is the biggest concern and County work crews have been out trying to minimize that risk, said Gill “We’ve been saturated for the last week or so with at least six, 9 inches of rain in some areas. So, we know the ground is wet, some of the canals are full. We have crews out trying to clear debris before the storm’s arrival. We just want to remind residents if we do start seeing impacting winds that they stay off the roads as much as possible. Please do not drive down flooded roads.”
You can report flooding by sending an email to flooding at S-T-L-U-C-I-E-C-O-dot-org.
“It looks like we’re right on the edge of the cone," said Gill, "but we don’t want residents, or our staff, to let our guard down.”