Hurricane Milton Wrap
At a press conference today, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, so far, at least four people have been reported killed by Hurricane Milton. They were hit by tornadoes in a mobile home park near Fort Piece. But the Governor said it could have been worse:
“The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst case scenario. It did weaken before landfall, and the storm surge as initially reported has not been as significant as what was reported for Hurricane Helene. Right now it looks as though Sarasota County had the most significant storm surge, likely between 8 and ten feet, and Helene had 15 to 20 feet up in Taylor County.”
What the Weather Service is calling a likely tornado ripped through Cocoa Beach around 6PM Wednesday. Six to eight buildings sustained moderate to major roof damage, including the Wells Fargo bank.
A large part of the ceiling at Melbourne Airport came down about 2AM Thursday. The damage left a hole in the airport’s roof about 30 feet by 40 feet.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne says that a tropical storm watch is still in effect until further notice. Tonight there’s a chance of more heavy rain and wind gusts up to 40 mph. So far, Brevard has received about 4 inches of rain. The highest wind gust recorded at Melbourne Airport was 78 mph.
Nearly a quarter of Brevard without power early today.
Over a third of FPL customers in Brevard were without power this morning. About 116,000 households along the Space Coast reported that power was out. FPL reminds you to stay far away from downed power lines.
Limit water use.
The heavy rains from Hurricane Milton, combined with our everyday water use, can put serious stress on the wastewater system. Brevard County asks that you reduce your water use in the short term. Avoid doing laundry if you can, run the dishwasher only when it's full, keep your showers short, and if you use city water for irrigation, turn off your sprinkler system.
Judge rejects re-opening voter registration.
A federal judge refused to extend the deadline to register to vote on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle that said allowing people to register to vote for the November election beyond Oct. 7 would overload supervisors of elections. The League of Women Voters and the NAACP wanted the court to order Gov. Ron DeSantis to reopen the voter registration process for at least 10 more days. The groups argued that Floridians obeying mandatory evacuation orders on Monday shouldn’t have to choose between their safety and their right to vote. DeSantis on Monday declined to extend the deadline because the hurricane hadn’t hit yet. The plaintiffs have not yet announced plans for any appeal.
Moms for Liberty wins in school board case.
A federal appeals court Tuesday backed a chapter of the group Moms for Liberty in a constitutional challenge to Brevard County School Board policies. The school board had placed restrictions on speakers at board meetings. The court said the school board did not have unlimited powers to silence speakers. The opinion came after school boards in various parts of Florida and the country have become battlegrounds during the past few years about contentious issues such as restricting or eliminating access to certain school-library books.
