Several municipalities in Central Florida were dealing with water shortages and boil water alerts Tuesday related to Hurricane Irma, which left large parts of Florida without power.
- Boil-water alerts issued amid statewide water shortages
- Power outages causing municipal pump stations to fail
- RELATED: Hurricane Irma:
In Brevard County, residents in Cocoa Beach, Cocoa and some surrounding areas could be without water for days. With power out, many were looking for ice. A platoon of Florida National Guard members arrived Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School with more water and to help. Convenience store chain 7-Eleven donated 4,000 bags of free ice to a Cocoa location. The free ice was while supplies last and was available at the store at 2201 Highway 524 and Industrial Road in Cocoa.
In Lake and Sumter counties, the following neighborhoods served by several water systems were asked to boil water until further notice:
- Lake
- Lake Idlewild Waterworks – Lake Idlewild Estates
- Pine Harbour Waterworks
- Raintree Waterworks
- Sumter
- The Woods
- Jumper Creek
Meanwhile, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs urged residents to continue to curtail water use, as Hurricane Irma considerably strained pump stations. She asked residents to reduce toilet flushing, running washing machines and dishwashers and asked people not to take long showers. If you filled your bathtub before the storm, the county is also asking residents not to drain it immediately.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that Home Depot is sending 45 tractor trailers containing disaster-relief supplies, including bottled water at $2.97 a case, to Florida. The initial shipment will head to South Florida, but additional supplies will arrive by the end of the week.