Emergency Preparedness

The City of Cocoa Beach wants to make sure all our residents are informed and prepared during an emergency situation. It is always best to plan ahead and make sure you are prepared for any type of emergency situation. Below you will find resources you and your family need during an emergency situation.

Sources of Information

Brevard County Emergency Management and the City of Cocoa Beach Facebook, Twitter, and Website will be your local resource for information in an emergency situation. If you are in need of emergency assistance please dial 9-1-1.

Barrier Islands and Causeways

Brevard County has several barrier islands, which include Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, and even Merritt Island. Typically in a storm situation, the barrier islands will be the first communities under an evacuation notice as they are susceptible to high winds causing downed powerlines and storm surges.

Causeways to and from the barrier islands remain open prior to the storm and are generally not safe to travel during a storm. Bridges are closed after the storm by the Florida Department of Transportation to perform inspections to make sure the bridges are safe to travel on. Due to these inspections access back to the barrier islands after a storm will be limited until the bridges have cleared inspection and opened back up.

Make sure to know your evacuation route and make sure to keep updated through Brevard County Emergency Management and Cocoa Beach points of information to find out when the causeways are re-opened. .

Brevard County Emergency Management

Cocoa Beach Resources

Brevard County Public Schools

Website:https://www.brevardschools.org/
Twitter: @BrevardSchools
Facebook: Brevard County Public Schools on Facebook

In the event of a weather emergency, the superintendent of Brevard Public Schools (BPS) is the only person who will give the directive that schools are to close due to extreme weather conditions. Should the district close, BPS will communicate the closure to parents, teachers, and staff through their rapid notification system. This will come in the form of voicemail and email. Those who have registered their cell phone number will receive a text message.

National Weather Service Melbourne

Other Resources

Brevard County Sheriff Non-Emergency Lines:

North Area: (321) 264-5100
Central Area: (321) 633-7162
South Area: (321) 952-6371

City of Cocoa Water: 321-433-8400

Florida Power and Light (Report an Outage): (800) 468-8243

Florida Price Gouging Hotline (To Report): (866) 966-7226

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): (800) 621-3362; www.ready.gov

FEMA Flood Insurance Information: https://www.fema.gov/flood-insurance

Florida City Gas: (888) 352-5325

Florida Division of Emergency Management: www.floridadisaster.org

National Hurricane Center: www.nhc.noaa.gov

Small Business Administration (Business Preparedness Information): https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/prepare-emergencies

Still wondering, if you should evacuate when ordered to during a hurricane?

Storm surge is water that is pushed toward the shore by the force of winds swirling around a storm. Following an elevation survey, the City of Cocoa Beach has installed marking points on stop signs depicting how high the water would rise if the city is hit by a storm surge.

Yellow: 5 feet above mean high-water level
Orange: 10 feet above mean high-water level
Red: 15 feet above mean high-water level

Sandbags

Sandbags may be used to protect your home by placing them across doorways to prevent water from entering the building. Research ahead of time if you live in a low-lying area that is prone to flooding. Most home improvement stores carry empty sandbags that you can purchase and keep in your hurricane supply kit. You can fill the sandbags with sand or dirt available on your property.

NOTE: Do not fill your sandbags with sand from the beach.

The location and availability of sand prior to a storm will be updated as the information becomes available. Cocoa Beach residents are required to provide their own sandbags

Public Safety and Services

Public services, such as Fire/EMS, Public Works, Utilities, and power providers may be delayed during a storm for the safety of those employees. Please plan ahead of time, this is why it is important to heed any evacuation notices.

Sewer Systems

The Water Reclamation Department encourages residents to minimize the impact of rainfall may incur on our sewer system. Some things residents and local business owners can do to help minimize the impacts of sewer system overflows or backups. The City of Cocoa Beach provides water usage notices throughout the storm via City of Cocoa Beach Facebook, City of Cocoa Beach Twitter, and Cocoa Beach Network News (CBNN).

Water Utilities and the Barrier Islands

Be prepared to be without certain utilities, including electricity and potable water, after the storm. Interruption in service could last several days depending on how widespread and how severe the storm damage is.

The barrier island water system may need to be isolated from the main water system to protect the integrity of the entire utility system. If this happens, there will still be water service, but it will be limited to the amount stored in takes on the barrier island. Local utility officials will evaluate the speed, direction, and intensity of the storm to determine if and when isolation of the system is needed. Once that decision is made the message will go out through multiple communication channels throughout the entire county and will be communicated to the news media.

All residents are advised to prepare for the potential loss of water service and for the possible issue of a Precautionary Boil Water Notice once water service is restored.

How to prepare? Store water ahead of the storm, including filling your bathtub.

Electric

Electricity outages are likely during a storm. In order to prepare ahead of time make sure trees in your yard are free of any power lies prior to the storm.

To track outages and when power will be restored, visit https://www.fplmaps.com/.

If a hurricane approaches, be prepared to lose power for several days.
Visit Florida Power and Light's (FPL) FPL Storm Center Page for tips on how to prepare.

Post Storm and Debris Cleanup

We ask that residents please be patient after the storm has passed, public service personnel is working hard to get our communities restored as quickly as possible. You can help by keeping the roads clear so service personnel can get to areas of concern quickly.

Debris pickup will continue as quickly as possible. We ask that you separate your debris piles into sections and follow the guidelines set out by FEMA.