PALM BEACH COUNTY
Effective immediately Palm Beach County has ordered mandatory evacuations for everyone in Zone A (mobile homes, substandard housing or flood-prone areas) and Zone B (east of Country Club Drive south of County Line and north of Indiantown Road. East of Alt. A1A south of Indiantown and north of Frederick Small. All barrier islands from Singer Island south to the county line of Boca with many pockets just east of U.S. 1.)
A mandatory evacuation is also in effect for all of the Village of Tequesta, east of Country Club Drive. Residents must evacuate the Village by 11 a.m. Thursday.
A special needs shelter opened at 2 p.m. at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
A pet-friendly shelter is open at the West Boynton Recreation Center. However, emergency management says no more humans can stay at this location. Pet owners can leave their animals at the West Boynton site and stay at Park Vista High School.
General population shelters opened at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the following locations:
- Atlantic High School
- Boynton Beach High School
- Lakeshore Middle School
- Forest Hill High School
- Pahokee Middle School
- Palm Beach Central High School
- Palm Beach Gardens High School
- Park Vista High School
These shelters will open at 9 a.m. Thursday
- Independence Middle School
- Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School
- Seminole Ridge High School
- John I. Leonard High School
- West Boca High School
THE FOLLOWING SHELTERS ARE CURRENTLY NOT OPEN:
West Gate Elementary School 1545 Loxahatchee Dr, West Palm Beach 33409
Boca Raton High School 1501 NW 15th Ct, Boca Raton 33486
MARTIN COUNTY
Martin County has issued a local state of emergency due to Hurricane Matthew and has ordered MANDATORY evacuations for the barrier islands (Hutchinson Island and Jupiter Island), Sewall's Point, and mobile homes, as well as homes in low-lying areas. These evacuation orders affect approximately 15,000 to 17,000 people.
Evacuation routes and storm surge maps are available at www.martin.fl.us/hurricane. In addition, Martin County's Public Information Line is active. The number is 772-287-1652.
Hurricane Matthew is a very strong storm with anticipated sustained winds of 143 miles per hour and gusts could be up to 173 miles per hour. These winds are strong enough to take the roof off of a home.
SHELTERS
Should you need to evacuate, Red Cross shelters are open at four locations in Martin County. The shelters are located at:
• Port Salerno Elementary School
• Jensen Beach High School
• Hidden Oaks Middle School
• Warfield Elementary School
Martin County is opening an additional shelter at J.D. Parker Elementary School, located at 1050 SE 10th Street in Stuart, at 1:00 p.m. Thursday.
• Special needs shelter at Anderson Middle School
All these shelters have much more capacity and we urge residents to utilize these resources.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
St. Lucie County will begin a mandatory evacuation for the barrier island starting Thursday, Oct. 6. Residents living on North and South Hutchinson Island who are considering leaving the Treasure Coast should do so today (Oct. 5).
The evacuation order applies to all of Hutchinson Island and manufactured/mobile homes (due to wind), as well as homes in low-lying areas. This evacuation order is due to the predicted storm surge of 3-5 feet associated with Hurricane Matthew. Residents are urged to follow the evacuation order, as once conditions worsen, public safety officials will not put first responders in harm’s way.
If residents on the barrier island have not pick up re-entry plaques; they should bring along proof of residency such as a valid driver’s license or utilities bill.
Those residents planning to shelter in place, should make sure they have enough food, water and medicine to last them at least three days.
The Havert L. Fenn Center, 2000 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce, has been activated as a Special Needs Shelter. Anyone with Special Needs that has not registered please call 772-462-8100.
General Shelters:
• Lakewood Park Elementary School, 7800 Indrio Road, Fort Pierce
• Samuel Gaines Elementary, 2250 Jenkins Road, Fort Pierce
• Treasure Coast High School, 1000 SW Darwin Blvd., Port St. Lucie
• Fort Pierce Central High School, 4101 South 25th St., Fort Pierce, opening at 10 a.m.
• Oak Hammock Elementary, 1251 SW California Blvd., Port St. Lucie, opening at noon
• Westwood High School, 1801 Angle Road, Fort Pierce, opening at noon
RELATED: Hurricane Guide | Storm Shield & WPTV app | Get Storm Shield Alerts
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
A mandatory evacuation order is in effect for the barrier island, mobile/manufactured homes, low lying areas, and substandard housing.
Out of an abundance of caution and with a shift in the track towards the west, a voluntary evacuation is suggested for all areas east of U.S. #1 up to the Intracoastal Waterway.
SHELTERS
Emergency Shelters will be closing doors around 8:00 P.M. Thursday
- Freshman Learning Center, 1507 19th Street, Vero Beach
- Oslo Middle School, 480 20th Avenue SW, Vero Beach
- Sebastian River Middle School, 9400 County Road 512, Sebastian
- The Pet Friendly Shelter located at Liberty Magnet School is now closed and no longer accepting anyone else. Anyone still wishing to shelter with pets should contact the Indian River County Emergency Operations Center Hotline at (772) 226-4000 for information on how to proceed.
- Treasure Coast Elementary School (Special Needs Shelter), 8955 County Road 510, Sebastian
Please remember that emergency shelters are a last resort for those who have nowhere to go. If you have an alternative, we ask that you use those before entering an emergency shelter.
At this time, the only pet friendly shelter opening tomorrow will be Liberty Magnet School, 6850 81st Street, Vero Beach. Registration is required to enter the pet friendly shelter. For those who have not yet registered, the Humane Society is no longer accepting applications at their offices. Please go to Liberty Magnet at 8:00 A.M. tomorrow to register.
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY
Okeechobee County has one general population shelter open and one special needs shelter open.
The general shelter is located at South Elementary School, 2468 SW 7 Avenue, Okeechobee
The special needs shelter is located at the Okeechobee County Health Department, 1728 NW 9 Avenue, Okeechobee.
Persons must be electricity dependent. Must bring three days food, drinks and snacks; must bring all medications to include oxygen and also must be accompanied by caregiver.
BROWARD COUNTY
There is a voluntary evacuation for residents in low-lying areas and mobile homes.
BREVARD COUNTY
Mandatory evacuations for barrier islands began at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
