Brevard County barrier islands mandatory evacuations to start at 3 p.m. Wednesday

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The Brevard County Emergency Operations Center has issued a mandatory evacuation of barrier islands, including Merritt Island and low-lying areas due to Hurricane Matthew.

Evacuations will begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Port Canaveral has already been evacuated.

Hurricane Warnings have been issued for Orange, Osceola, Volusia and Brevard counties.

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“We’re still hoping and praying. That’s all we can do. It’s in God’s hands,” Jerry Corr, Melbourne Beach resident said.

The Brevard County Emergency Operations Center said if a person lives in an area surrounded by water, they need to start leaving at 3 p.m.

Shelters will open beginning at 4 p.m., click here for a list of shelter locations. People have been asked to bring their own pillows, blankets, mattresses, along with a three-day supply of food and clothes. It's also suggested that people bring their medicine, cash and important documents.

BREVARD COUNTY SHELTERS: 

Mims Elementary School, 2582 US Highway 1, Mims

Apollo Elementary School, 3085 Knox McRae Dr., Titusville

Imperial Estates Elementary School, 900 Imperial Estates Lane, Titusville

Walter Butler Community Center at Bernice Jackson Park, 4201 US Highway 1, Cocoa

Manatee Elementary School, 3425 Viera Blvd., Viera

Sherwood Elementary School, 2541 Post Road, Melbourne

Eau Gallie High School, 1400 Commodore Blvd., Melbourne

Melbourne High School, 74 Bulldog Blvd., Melbourne

Meadowlane Intermediate Elementary, 2700 Wingate Blvd., West Melbourne

Heritage High School 2351 Malabar Rd., Palm Bay

Bayside High School, 1901 DeGroodt Rd. S.W. Palm Bay

South Mainland Community Center, 3700 Allen Ave., Micco

Barefoot Bay Community Center - Bldg A Barefoot Blvd (Not a shelter - Transportation pick-up point ONLY)

Pet-Friendly Shelters:

Port St. John Community Center, 6650 Corto Road, Port St. John

Viera Regional Community Center, 2300 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera

Wickham Park Community Center, 2815 Leisure Way, Melbourne

Ted Witlock Community Center at Palm Bay Regional Park, 1951 Malabar Rd NW, Palm Bay

"Whether you are going to a family's house that's on the mainland, it's a good time to get off that island because we don't know the impact of the storm surge. We don't know what that's going to be and we want people out there to be safe," said Don Walker with Brevard County Emergency Operations Center.

The causeway will not be closing, however when winds top 40 miles per hour, emergency vehicles will no longer be crossing the causeway, officials said.

Brevard County schools, government offices and the courthouse will be closed Thursday and Friday.

Cape Canaveral hospital is closed and is evacuating patients to Holmes Regional and Viera Hospital.

Gates to Cape Canaveral Hospital will closed at 9 a.m. Wednesday to new patients. Surgeries will be rescheduled.

“We actually started last night with our most critical patients in intensive care unit,” said Matthew Gerrell, spokesperson with Health First.

All cruise ships and tankers have stopped operations.

Majesty of the Seas will depart Port Canaveral on Saturday. Due to the revised itinerary, Royal Caribbean International will provide each stateroom with an onboard credit in the amount of one day based on the cruise fare paid, which will be credited to guests' onboard accounts. As a gesture of goodwill, all sailing guests will received a 33 percent future cruise credit. A letter with more details and information about the updated itinerary will be provided at boarding.

Elite Airways in Melbourne has moved all its northbound flights out of Naples, Vero Beach and Melbourne from Friday to Thursday. There will be no southbound Florida flights.

Cox Media Group