The Very Latest on Conditions in St. Lucie

At 11 a.m. today the center of Tropical Storm Fay was located very near Melbourne and about 15 miles south of Cape Canaveral, moving toward the north at 5 mph.

A gradual turn toward the northwest during the next 24 to 36 hours is expected. Fay is likely to remain near or over east-central and northeastern Florida throughout Thursday.

Maximum winds are near 50 mph. Fay is expected to produce 5-10 inches of rainfall over east-central and northeastern Florida. A Tropical Storm Warning has been extended northward to Altamaha Sound, Ga. and remains in effect along the Florida east coast to of the Jupiter Inlet.

Tuesday afternoon a tornado touched down on 3904 Selvitz Road: A business was damaged, two cars were flipped over.

Between 500-700 homes have either been flooded or are in danger of being flooded. Some of those residents are being picked up by high-profile vehicles or boats/airboats and taken to an area shelter.

The estimated cost of damage from Tropical Storm Fay (including infrastructure, residences and businesses) around $25 million.

St. Lucie County Emergency Management continues to evaluate this situation and is participating in conference calls with the Florida Department of Emergency Management and the National Hurricane Center. All St. Lucie County Department Directors are making preparations for Fay per the County's Hurricane Manual.

The St. Lucie County Administrator declared a State of Emergency at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19.

St. Lucie County Public Safety officials will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. today at the Emergency Operations Center, 101 North Rock Road, Fort Pierce.

St. Lucie County schools and school activities have been cancelled for the rest of the week. All school employees are asked to stay home Thursday, Aug. 21, and return to work on Friday, Aug. 22.

The Council on Aging and Community Transit/Treasure Coast Connector will be closed Wednesday, Aug. 20. There will be no delivery of meals for Meals on Wheels and no transit operations.

The St. Lucie County Fire District Board Meeting, scheduled for today at 3 p.m., has been cancelled.

Any St. Lucie County resident needing shelter due to flooding should call the Emergency Operations Center at 772-462-2745 for assistance.

St. Lucie County's Emergency Operation Center's Rumor Control Hotline will be open this evening at (772) 462-2745.

All St. Lucie County offices, including Clerk of the Court, 19th Judicial Circuit Courts, Health Department, Supervisor of Elections, Sheriff, Property Appraisers and Tax Collector, will be closed on Wednesday, Aug. 20 due to the widespread flooding of area roads.

Both the City of Fort Pierce and City of Port St. Lucie offices will be closed on Wednesday, Aug. 20 due to the widespread flooding of area roads.

Shelters: Fort Pierce Community Center (700 N. Indian River Drive, Fort Pierce) is open for those requiring shelter due to flooding. The City of Port St. Lucie is also using this facility as a shelter for their displaced residents from their hardest hit area, East of U.S. 1. The shelter will remain open until further notice.

Traffic: Fort Pierce City crews continue to repair traffic control devices and remove debris throughout the city. Many of the traffic lights on the main roadways are functional. There is some localized flooding and standing water throughout the southern half of the city.

Power Outages:

Nearly 3,764 residents without power

7606 Bayard Ave and surrounding areas

Spanish Lakes Fairways

Roads Open: 25th Street : northbound from Edwards Road

Signs, Trees, Power Lines Down:

Orange / Sneed Road - stop sign down

Floyd Johnson / Jenkins Road - All road signs and stop sign down

Coral / Oleander and Coral / Citrus - Trees down in area

Orange / Knight Rd - Culvert washout

2321 Sweewater Drive - Chest-deep water

S. Kings / Graham Rd - Stop sign down

Trenton / Thornhill - cable or power line down

400 Block South Indian River Drive - power line down

Road Conditions:

FAA Rd / Research Rd: Under Water

Morningside Development: Under Water

Fairwinds Golf Course: Under Water

Fairways: Power Outages

Spanish Lakes CC: Under Water

Kings Hwy./Indrio Rd: Water in intersection

6613 Fort Pierce Blvd.: Street Light Down

Old Dixie: Under Water

Harmony Height: Under Water

Sunland Gardens: Under Water

Kings Hwy South of Orange Ave: Under Water

800 Block Kings Hwy: Under Water

Floyd Johnson / Jenkins Road: All signs down

Bent Creek: Under Water

Silver Lake Estates / Windsong: Under Water

25th Street / Bell Ave: Under Water

Dade Rd / 25th Street: Under Water

Selvitz Road at 10 Mile Creek: Water Moving Rapidly

Sweetwater Drive: Under Water

White City Park: Under Water

Indian River Estates: Under Water

Citrus Ave: Under Water

Easy Street: Under Water

Saeger / Oleander: Under Water

Kitterman Rd: Under Water

Indian River Drive Midway to FP City Limits: Under Water

Coral / Oleander: Trees Down

Coral / Citrus: Trees Down

A1A Bridge South Hutchinson near Fire Department: Under Water

8000-8500 Block South Ocean Drive: Under Water

10000 Block South Ocean Drive to County Line: Under Water

Road Closures:

Port St. Lucie:

East PSL

Walton Rd from US1 to Village Green

Mariposa Blvd from US1 to dead end

Lennard Rd from Jennings to Us1

Westmoreland Blvd from Morningside to Caimbridge

West PSL

Bethany entire road

California from SLW Blvd to Del Rio

California from SLW to Chamber

Cashmere from SLW Blvd to Crosstown Parkway

Peacock from SLW to California

Fort Pierce:

U.S. 1 / Weatherbee (southbound)

Saeger / Oleander

25th Street / Midway (north & southbound)

Virginia Avenue: from US 1 to South 25th Street

South 25th Street: from Virginia Avenue to Okeechobee Road

Oleander Boulevard: from Virginia Avenue to El Rancho Drive

Note: Many of these intersections are being manned by police officers and barricades. The Fort Pierce Police Department has posted officers along Virginia Avenue at Oleander Boulevard, Sunrise Boulevard, 13th Street, 19th Street, and 23rd Street for morning rush hour traffic.

The following streets are impassable but not being manned by police department personnel:

Gardenia Avenue Wisteria Avenue Roslyn Avenue

El Rancho Drive Emil Avenue Palm Drive

Azalea Avenue Maple Avenue

The following gated communities are flooded and inaccessible:

Bent Creek (Hartman Road and Orange Avenue)

Sabal Chase Apartments (7000 Block of Okeechobee Road)

Midway Road/McCarty to Poney Pines

Beach Access: South Beach access remains opened for residents, businesses and contractors. There is some localized flooding along South Ocean Boulevard and Seaway Drive; however, these streets are passable. There are several secondary streets that remain flooded: Plover, Cypress, Coconut and Surfside. These streets are not being manned by police officers or barricades. There are no reported power outages.

There will be no trash pick up in Port St. Lucie today. Trash will be picked up on the next regularly scheduled pick-up day for properties that miss today's schedule.

Residents are advised to stay off the roads if possible, as many roadways are experiencing standing water and flooding.

RECOMMENDED PUBLIC ACTIONS:

Continue to monitor the media closely and adhere to recommended public protection actions. Residents are advised to review their family communications and emergency plan and to finalize their Hurricane Preparedness Kits. For more information about hurricane preparation, visit the St. Lucie County Extension's 2008 Personal Hurricane Preparedness Guide, which is available on the Hurricane House web-site located at: http://stlucie.ifas.ufl.edu/com_dev_hurricane_house.html

Residents are advised to stay at home off the roads and avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary.