FORT PIERCE, Fla. — St Lucie County officials are working to figure out what shelters and emergency services will look like and urge residents not to dismiss the storm as it could be a Category 1 hurricane.
"I'd feel better if it's a 1, but you never know," said county resident Pedro Rodriguez. "Anything could happen. It could turn into a category 3, even a 2. You don't want to mess with it."
Rodriguez was filling up extra gas cans on Monday, saying it was time to prepare.
"It's better to get ready and have it even though you don't use it," said Rodriguez. "You still can always use the gas and food and everything else, because right now we're going shopping again."
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County officials said they plan to meet with their emergency operations staff and other agencies on Tuesday to discuss storm plans and shelter openings, as some shelters are also polling locations.
"It is a little chaotic in trying to move the pieces around to make sure we're doing what we can to protect the safety and keep elections going and not disrupt the flow of the voting process for tomorrow," said county spokesman Eric Gill.
Public works staff has been out preparing drainage and staging pumps to redirect water as the area is under a hurricane watch.
"The storm surge is expected to be 3-5 feet, we are expecting," said Gill. "It is a full moon and king tide, so the water levels will be up, so we could see some isolated flooding in neighborhoods."
St Lucie County residents are asked to avoid cutting any trees or branches as crews may not be able to pick them up in time before the storm.
