VERO BEACH, Florida — Flooding on Florida's Treasure Coast escalated on Monday night, November 2, when the Indian River County Sheriff's Office announced a voluntary evacuation for the Rockridge area because of flooding and potential wastewater backups — hours after the same water forced Election Day polling places to move in two counties and closed St. Lucie County's public schools, county offices and courthouses for Tuesday.

Source: Treasure Coast Today

The evacuation area runs from 17th Street to 13th Place and from 6th Avenue to IR Boulevard. Indian River County Utilities is monitoring conditions and has contacted affected customers, the sheriff's office said, and residents with questions or who want to report their status should call 772-226-4000. Indian River County's own local state of emergency took effect at 2:30 p.m. on Monday and remains in effect until further notice, with officials citing deteriorating weather, impassable roads and continuing rainfall.

The evacuation follows the development Awaaz Punjab reported on Monday, when Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 26-227 declaring a state of emergency in seven counties — Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie — after days of heavy rain. Read the emergency-order report

Where to vote now: the moved precincts

In St. Lucie County, Precinct 12 voters will vote at the Days Inn Midtown, 3224 S US Highway 1 in Fort Pierce. Precincts 49, 71 and 51 will vote at the Port St. Lucie Community Center, 2195 SE Airoso Boulevard, with access from Airoso Boulevard. Precincts 67 and 86 will vote at Indian River State College's Veterans Center of Excellence, 500 NW California Boulevard, with access from Peacock Boulevard. Precincts 83 and 92 will vote at Tradition Town Hall, 10799 SW Civic Lane in Port St. Lucie.

In Indian River County, Precinct 7 voters normally assigned to Sebastian Church of God will instead vote at the Sebastian Elks Lodge, and Precinct 26 voters normally assigned to Morning Star Church will vote at the Intergenerational Recreation Room — the IG Center — in Vero Beach. Election officials are urging affected voters to go directly to their new locations on Election Day. St. Lucie County voters can check stlucievotes.gov or call 772-462-1500 for voting and vote-by-mail information.

Closures, roads and safety warnings

St. Lucie County public schools, county offices and courthouses are closed on Tuesday, and Brevard County schools are also closed, with a flood watch there running until 10 a.m. Tuesday. Farther inland, all DeSoto County schools are closed through Wednesday, November 4, because of flooding and road conditions.

Source: WENG Radio

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said numerous roads are flooded or impassable, with more rain expected through Monday night and Tuesday. Deputies remain on duty and are coordinating with the county Emergency Operations Center. Officials urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel, never drive through floodwater or around barricades, and stay away from downed power lines and standing water near electrical equipment.

How the flood built up

A stalled low-pressure system pulled deep tropical moisture over Florida's Atlantic coast over the weekend; it was not a tropical storm, and the National Hurricane Center listed no Atlantic cyclones on Monday. The National Weather Service in Melbourne issued a Flash Flood Emergency — its most severe flood alert — for West Melbourne and Palm Bay on Monday morning, later adding Grant-Valkaria, after radar estimates of 18 to 20 inches of rain in 12 hours just south of Palm Bay, a rate forecasters described as a 1,000-year event. Turkey Creek overflowed and washed out part of Port Malabar Road. On the Treasure Coast itself, Port St. Lucie took 6 to 10 inches of rain on Monday after 3 to 6 inches the day before, falling on ground already saturated by a wet October and stacking on top of king tides.

The danger is not over when the rain eases. Rivers keep rising after the heaviest rain moves out: the Peace River is forecast to crest just west of Arcadia on Thursday evening, with about 60 homes potentially taking on water, and rainfall totals approached a foot near Avon Park and Sebring — amounts usually reserved for a tropical system.

What the state order does

Under Executive Order 26-227, the Florida Division of Emergency Management coordinates the state response, the Department of Transportation can waive tolls when needed for emergency help or evacuations, and price-gouging protections for essential goods and services are switched on in the seven counties. Because the general election falls on Tuesday, the order also sets a process for county elections supervisors who cannot fully meet polling-place requirements to propose substitute measures, subject to approval by Florida's secretary of state — the mechanism behind the polling moves listed above.

Source: Space Coast Wire

For voters in the two counties, the practical message is to check your precinct before you travel and allow extra time on flooded roads; for truckers working US Highway 1 and the I-95 corridor through the Treasure Coast, officials' advice is blunt — do not drive through floodwater, obey barricades, and expect closures and school-zone changes to shift traffic through Tuesday.