INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The county has declared a state of emergency in response to the forthcoming Hurricane Irma.
County administrator Jason Brown declared the emergency at 1 p.m. Thursday, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Irma remained a category 5 hurricane Thursday with 175 mph winds.
On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in all 67 counties to prepare for Irma. In Indian River County, all offices, banks and stores will be closed Friday.
Voluntary evacuations are in effect for low-lying areas that include substandard housing, manufactured homes and those who may be impacted by the storm surge, such as the barrier islands and areas east of U.S. 1.
Mandatory evacuations for those areas will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday. Some emergency shelters also will open at 8 a.m. Saturday.
Those shelters are:
•Freshman Learning Center, 1507 19th Street
•Oslo Middle School, 480 20th Avenue SW
•Sebastian River Middle, 9400 County Road 512
•Fellsmere Elementary School, 50 North Cypress Street
•Liberty Magnet, 6850 81st Street
•Treasure Coast Elementary, 8955 85th Street
As those shelters open and begin to fill, the need to open others will be addressed. A full list of emergency shelters can be found on the Indian River County Emergency Services Department site.
