Irma is coming (Tampa, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie: city hall, refrigerator, shop)

[FlaLadyB]

Martin County evacuations in Martin County beginning Saturday; Emergency shelters to open

Martin County is under a local state of emergency and continues under a voluntary evacuation notice. Officials have announced mandatory evacuations in advance of Hurricane Irma beginning at 8:00 am on Saturday, September 9 in conjunction with shelter openings. This order applies to residences on the barrier islands (Hutchinson Island and Jupiter Island), Sewall's Point and manufactured/mobile homes, as well as homes in low-lying areas. Residents are urged to follow the evacuation order. Additional evacuation areas may be identified if the National Hurricane Center issues potential storm surge warnings.

Shelters
Emergency shelters will open at 8:00 am on Saturday, September 9 for affected residents. Residents are encouraged to consider other sheltering options before deciding to go to an emergency shelter. The shelters are located at:
-Port Salerno Elementary School, 3260 SE Lionel Terrace, Stuart
-JD Parker Elementary School, 1010 SE 10th Street, Stuart
-Jensen Beach High School, 2801 SW Martin Highway, Palm City
-Hidden Oaks Middle School, 2801 SW Martin Highway, Palm City
-Warfield Elementary School, 15260 SW 150th Street, Indiantown

Martin County is working with its partners to begin activation of Anderson Middle School in Stuart as a Special Needs Shelter.The Special Needs Shelter includes limited medical oversight and is designed for residents with electricity-dependent needs such as oxygen, as well as the need for evacuation transportation to and from the shelter. Pre-registration is required and may still be done online at www.martin.fl.us/specialneeds. Residents who come to the shelter and do not meet the requirements will be re-directed to another shelter suitable for their needs. Specific details will be shared as soon as they become available.

Pets (other than service animals) are not allowed in emergency shelters. Residents are encouraged to make alternate arrangements for their pets.

Government Closures
Martin County government offices and facilities will be closed on Friday, September 8 through Monday, September 11 or until the storm clears. These closures include all Martin County Library System branches, as well as County parks and beaches on the barrier islands. All other County parks will close end of day on Friday, September 8.

Garbage and Recycling
Garbage and recycling collection by Waste Management will cease as of close of business today, September 7 until services can adequately and safely be provided. Residents are strongly urged not to place garbage or yard waste at the curb in advance of the storm due to safety concerns. The Martin County landfill will remain open until Friday at 4:00 pm.

Other Items
The Hobe Sound Bascule and Old Roosevelt bridges will be locked in the down position by 8:00 pm Friday, September 8. Large boats will be unable to travel north/south in the Intracoastal Waterway or east/west in the Okeechobee Waterway following the lockdown. There will be no impact to vehicular traffic.

Information Sources
Martin County's Public Information Line is active and staff is available between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Residents can call 772-287-1652 to have their storm-related questions answered.

Up-to-date emergency information may be found on the County website at www.martin.fl.us/hurricane. Residents are also encouraged to follow Martin County on Twitter @martincountygov and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MartinCounty...yCommissioners.

[aridon]

Westward trend is continuing thankfully for us, bad for a west coast that was likely convinced we were going to get it. Now they have about 24 hours to prep.

If you get nothing else from this experience, understand this:

Don't focus on the red line, it is worthless without considering the overall model trends. Not all models are created equally, the European is by far the best of the batch right now but there are other good ones as well and they are constantly being updated and tweaked to be better. The European and the GFS ensembles are key in determining the cone of error as well as the other models.

Never focus on the actual lines. They move all over the place. The trend combined with the lines with a bit of knowledge of what is actually steering the storm can net you some good information.

Anytime you're in the cone of error there is still a possibility the storm can still hit you. Keep an eye out but the overall trends have been working in our favor so far.

[FlaLadyB]

OK.. a little reminder of what a hurricane is like - this is from Hurricane Charley- this is looking over a main street in Punta Gorda.

https://youtu.be/UeM-cjTEEA8

[fengxg]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

OK.. a little reminder of what a hurricane is like - this is from Hurricane Charley

https://youtu.be/UeM-cjTEEA8

Where is this? Sounds like irresponsible people left a lot of garbage flying all over the place.

[SeetheUSA]

I really want to bring this problem up to our leaders. All of these new construction homes have huge garbage dumpsters in the yard, and they are not covered at all. That construction debris will be flying all over the place and will damage property. I am going to ask that they make it mandatory that they either tarp those bins or have them emptied within 24 hrs of these storms or give them a hefty fine.

[Lorac0561]

Originally Posted by SeetheUSA

I really want to bring this problem up to our leaders. All of these new construction homes have huge garbage dumpsters in the yard, and they are not covered at all. That construction debris will be flying all over the place and will damage property. I am going to ask that they make it mandatory that they either tarp those bins or have them emptied within 24 hrs of these storms or give them a hefty fine.

I thought there was something already in place for that? I remember reading it last year.

[FlaLadyB]

Ok.. went out about 7pm for a last minute something and ALL of the places around here are CLOSED
Publix in St Lucie West said yesterday that they would be closing at noon on Sat -- well .. nope, they closed at 8pm tonite till next week. The manager was out at the door with Police there. I was surprised, but, then again, I know how nasty people can be.

I saw NO gas station anywhere in my circle travels that had gas except the Shell at I95- $2.79 .. after going E on SLW blvd to Bayshore than down to PSL Blvd ... right to Gatlin ..to I95.. and back to SLW Blvd.

The only places I saw open were Burger King, Wendys, McDonalds (doing a brisk business).....and nobody else. Lots of empty parking lots and boarded up windows. Glad they are boarded up, but I thought they would wait till tomorrow to close.

Anyhow.. just an FYI ....guess I am without Ice

[FlaLadyB]

whoa!! I think we just got hit with the first WAVE of the STORM!!

The rain and wind just HIT like a ton of bricks outside!!!!

[Robino1]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

whoa!! I think we just got hit with the first WAVE of the STORM!!

The rain and wind just HIT like a ton of bricks outside!!!!

I was sitting on our lanai when it came through. Not sure if it was the first wave but man(!) a definite sign of things to come for sure!

[Lorac0561]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

Ok.. went out about 7pm for a last minute something and ALL of the places around here are CLOSED
Publix in St Lucie West said yesterday that they would be closing at noon on Sat -- well .. nope, they closed at 8pm tonite till next week. The manager was out at the door with Police there. I was surprised, but, then again, I know how nasty people can be.

I saw NO gas station anywhere in my circle travels that had gas except the Shell at I95- $2.79 .. after going E on SLW blvd to Bayshore than down to PSL Blvd ... right to Gatlin ..to I95.. and back to SLW Blvd.

The only places I saw open were Burger King, Wendys, McDonalds (doing a brisk business).....and nobody else. Lots of empty parking lots and boarded up windows. Glad they are boarded up, but I thought they would wait till tomorrow to close.

Anyhow.. just an FYI ....guess I am without Ice

I was out at 3 pm and Walmart had closed down on Gatlin BLVD. Sam Club stayed open until 5 pm. I know Publix stayed opned until 8 pm in Tradition. None of those places had water or ice.