North Brevard route shut down due to flooding, St. Johns under flood warning after Ian
One of northern Brevard County’s major east-west highways remains shut down as flooding continues along the St. Johns River and surrounding wetlands in the wake of Hurricane Ian's passage earlier this week.
"It's still flooded," said Tara Crescenzi, spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol. Crescenzi said most of Brevard's major east-west roads, including State Roads 192, 520 and 528, were open to traffic barring minor flooding at some points in Orange County. Street flooding also continues to plague some parts of Orange and northern Osceola counties.
Residents were advised to check with Florida 511 and area media to follow up-to-date traffic reports. But the flood waters cut State Road 46, a direct traffic route from Mims to Sanford that crosses the St. Johns.
"We're hoping things will be receding soon," Crescenzi said.
Already the Space Coast is under a flood warning through early Tuesday — meaning minor flooding is expected to continue along the St. Johns River as rainwater runoff from the storm continues to make its way through surrounding waterways. Rain chances are also expected to increase for Brevard by Monday night.
More: Flood warning issued for part of Brevard County near Cocoa along the St. John's River
More: Born in a hurricane: First-time mom from Grant-Valkaria welcomes baby in the midst of Hurricane Ian
The St. Johns River, which courses 310 miles from Nassau County through Indian River County, flows along the western spine of the Space Coast.
National Weather Service officials in Melbourne note that the flooding will continue along the St. Johns River basin. The flooding near the western edge of Cocoa is expected to continue through the early part of the week before receding further by Wednesday. Sunday, the waters were at 16 feet, with a maximum of 16.1 feet.
Residents are also urged not to ride through walk through, swim or drive through flood waters, much of which may be contaminated with raw sewage or chemicals.
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Most east-west routes for Brevard, Orange open as flooding continues
