INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Seven homes on the barrier island south of the City of Vero Beach will be evacuated this afternoon as crews remove two WWII era bombs found buried in the sand and lodged in the reef off-shore in the Atlantic Ocean.
As first reported on Friday, Jan. 24, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has been in Indian River County, south of Vero Beach, to address debris associated with past military activities at the former Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base.
During their work, contractors discovered two suspected bombs in approximately 11 feet of water.
Over the weekend, an explosives and ordnance disposal unit from the Mayport Naval Station worked to excavate the items, which are about 50 percent buried in the sand.
Work continues today, necessitating the evacuation of several homes in the area of Seagrape Drive and Reef Road. Authorities are unsure if the bombs are explosive and are erring on the side of caution.
In the event one of the bombs were to explode, the percussion could cause minor damage to the nearby homes.
The bombs, once freed from the sand and reef, will be transported a mile out to sea where they will be disposed.
The military used the Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base, an area of about 19,000 acres between Vero Beach and Jensen Beach, during World War II for amphibious training and to develop and test procedures for breaching and removing beach fortifications expected to be encountered in Europe and Japan. A variety of ordnance was tested against these fortifications.
The Corps was in the process of searching for and removing objects known as horned scullies, which are obstacles intended to damage landing craft, when the two items were discovered, about 50 feet apart.
For more information about the Formerly Used Defense Sites program in general, or the Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base project specifically, please call 866-279-4880 or e-mail [email protected].
