St. Lucie County - Tuesday September 27, 2022: St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners’ government offices, libraries and attractions will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 28 as Hurricane Ian is expected to impact our area with tropical force storm winds and heavy rains.
Additionally, all St. Lucie Public Schools and district offices will be closed Wednesday, Sept. 28 and Thursday, Sept. 29.
The St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s Office will be following the lead of the St. Lucie County School District in closing all three office locations on Wednesday, Sept. 28 and Thursday, Sept. 29. Following the storm, the Tax Collector will be offering extended hours on Friday, Sept. 30, opening one hour early at 8 a.m. and remaining open until 6 p.m. The St. Lucie County Clerk & Comptroller’s Office, will also be closed Wednesday, Sept. 28 and Thursday, Sept. 29.
The Sheriff’s Office, the Property Appraiser, the Supervisor of Elections and the 19th Judicial Court will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 28. A decision Thursday’s hours of operation for the Board of County Commissioners and other agencies will be made on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
The St. Lucie County Landfill and Waste Pro will continue to operate normal business hours until the weather conditions become unsafe for trucks to be on the road.
St. Lucie County’s public transportation system, ART (Area Regional Transit), bus service will also continue to operate as long as the weather allows. Riders are encouraged to monitor the schedule using the RouteShout application, available on the Apple Store and Google Play sites.
Indian River State College will be closed to employees, students, and visitors at starting at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Sept, 27. All classes (including online classes) and campus events are canceled. The college will remain closed on Wednesday, Sept. 28. IRSC continues to monitor Hurricane Ian and will assess conditions to determine when it is safe to reopen.
Hurricane Ian is projected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast near Tampa Bay Wednesday, Sept. 28 or Thursday, Sept. 29 as a Category 3 storm. St. Lucie County declared a Local State of Emergency at 9 a.m. on Sept. 27. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency for all 67 counties on Saturday, Sept. 24. Based on the projected path of Hurricane Ian there are no plans to issue evacuations or open shelters in St. Lucie County at this time.
St. Lucie County Emergency Operations Center is operating at a Level 2 (partial) activation. If residents have questions or concerns, they can call the St. Lucie County Public Information Lines at 772-460-4357 or 772-460-HELP, which are open beginning today from noon to 7 p.m. and the rest of the week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (These hours are subject to change depending on the storm’s path).
Even if the Treasure Coast stays out of the direct path of Hurricane Ian, St. Lucie County’s 21 miles of coastline will see impacts from this storm, including heavy surf, rips currents and escarpments/erosion. Residents and tourists are reminded to use caution when visiting our beaches before and after the storm passes Florida. Always swim at lifeguarded beaches: Pepper Park and Waveland.
St. Lucie County reminds all contractors to make preparations at their job sites for the potential impacts of Hurricane Ian. While St. Lucie County is not in the direct path of the storm, our area may still experience heavy rain and strong winds. All debris, trash, equipment and construction materials should be removed from construction sites until the storm passes. Residents with construction site concerns should report construction sites to Code Compliance. Please note that new state laws make it so that Code Complaints are no longer anonymous and your report will be part of the public record. https://www.stlucieco.gov/departments-and-services/planning-and-development-services/code-compliance/report-a-code-violation.
The potential for heavy rains and flash flooding will be in effect for the next several days. Residents can report flooding by emailing details, including street addresses and images, to flooding@stlucieco.org. If there is emergency, life-threatening flooding, please call 911. Residents are reminded to avoid driving and/or walking down flooded streets.
St. Lucie County has additional storm-related information available at www.readystlucie.org.