Updated November 3, 2026 at 10:06 AM EST
Flooding from heavy rains in Brevard County have prompted district-wide school closures and forced the Supervisor of Elections Office to make some last-minute changes.
John Scott, director of the Brevard County Emergency Management Office, said residents farther north like Mims and Titusville saw 5 to 8 inches of rain. Further South, he said it was 15 to 20 inches of rain.
He described the rain amounts in south Brevard as "borderline historic."
Cars were nearly submerged, some areas were seeing waist-deep flooding. In true Florida fashion, some residents were using kayaks and paddleboards to get around, or even joking about pulling their airboat off their trailer
Brevard County schools were forced to close. The district announced late Monday that campuses would be closed on Tuesday, as well.
Meanwhile, Brevard County was preparing for Election Day on Tuesday as flooding continued.
After assessing conditions, the Supervisor of Elections Office announced it was temporarily relocating several polling locations because of extreme flooding.
"Due to extreme flooding conditions, the Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Office will be temporarily relocating a limited number of precinct polling locations," the office said in a memo.
"For the safety and security of our election workers and the voters of Brevard, it is necessary to relocate a couple of precinct polling locations due to these unprecedented circumstances," Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic said in the memo.
The affected precincts and their new polling locations are:
- Precincts 307, 512 and 525: Moving from Max K. Rhodes Community Center to New Shiloh Christian Center, 3900 Sarno Road, Melbourne..
- Precinct 309: Moving from Veterans Memorial Complex to New Shiloh Christian Center, 3900 Sarno Road, Melbourne.
- Precinct 306: Moving from Eddie Lee Taylor Sr. Community Center to Joseph N. Davis Community Center, 2547 Bruce D. Buggs St., Melbourne.
- Precincts 323 and 509: Moving from Front Street Civic Center to Joseph N. Davis Community Center, 2547 Bruce D. Buggs St., Melbourne.
- Precinct 517: Moving from Faith Baptist Church of Palm Bay to Palm Bay City Hall Council Chambers, 120 Malabar Road SE, Palm Bay.
- Precinct 320, 513, and 522: Moving from EFSC Palm Bay - Community Dining Room to the Franklin T. DeGroodt Memorial Library, 6475 Minton Road SE, Palm Bay.
Residents react as police warn
The flooding extended beyond roads and neighborhoods, spilling into Facebook comment sections as residents discuss how conditions could affect Tuesday's election.
Brevard County resident Veronica Guzman posted about the importance of early voting, writing, "THESE kinds of circumstances are out of our control and why early voting is so important!!"
Esther Lyle Byrd also took to Facebook to remind voters to be flexible.
"Brevard Voters: Plan on being flexible tomorrow," she wrote. "If precincts are flooded or inaccessible, the Supervisor of Elections office will adjust to ensure they can accommodate all voters at other precincts."
She also urged voters to check whether their area is safe before heading out to vote.
Melbourne Police Commander Shawn Eising, who was stuck at home because of the flooding, said he could see water reaching the side mirrors of his neighbor's Ford Mustang.
He said firefighters were also responding to about 25 calls from the flooding, on top of their regular duties.
"This is not the typical afternoon thunderstorm where the rain floods a few streets and you know an hour or so later it's gone," Eising said. "This is probably going to take, you know, days for it to recede and become safe in some areas."
That could mean lingering impacts into Election Day. While Eising expected conditions to improve, he said there were still concerns about road safety.
"Right now, there's a lot of concerns," he said. "There's a lot of safety issues, there's a lot of potential danger for people, and they just have to remain cognizant of that."
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in an update on social media that although the Supervisor of Elections Office was still assessing what damage they have, people would be able to vote.
“No matter what, everybody will get an opportunity to vote tomorrow,” Ivey said. “If they have to move a precinct, they'll project it out. We'll help get that information out. We want everybody to get out and vote and have their part of democracy.”
Both Eising and Ivey urged residents to stay indoors and avoid flooded areas for now.
Even after the water recedes, residents should watch for structural damage, including potholes and sinkholes, he said.
And just because a road looks safe to drive on doesn't mean it is.
"Sometimes it'll be stagnant one minute, and then all of a sudden a canal will cave in or something happens, and that water rushes somewhere," Eising said. "If you're caught in that, it can become very dangerous for you, so we definitely discourage people from going out and playing in it as well."
Flooding can also create problems with septic systems, which treat household wastewater underground. When floodwaters prevent wastewater from draining properly, it can back up into homes.
"If the water can't flow out, they'll sometimes flow back," Eising said. "So there's a lot of concern there that the house could ultimately flood because of the septic system as well."
For voters who do head to the polls, Eising said to use caution, particularly around flooded roads.
"The city, the county, all of the engineering departments, the police departments, the fire departments will all be working together to make sure that once things are deemed back to safe, we'll be able to open everything up and travel as freely as we have before," he said.
Copyright 2026 Central Florida Public Media
