Local
Flood debris pickup starts Tuesday; federal aid still waits on a disaster declaration
County contractors begin curbside pickup in flood-hit unincorporated south Brevard. Here is how to sort it, where to get help now, why federal household aid isn’t open, and where the St. Johns is headed.
As of Monday morning, Nov. 9. Check the county and your city for updates.
Brevard County’s contractors start picking up flood debris Tuesday in unincorporated south Brevard. Federal help for households is further off: there is still no federal disaster declaration for last week’s flooding.
What to put at the curb
Curbside removal begins Tuesday, Nov. 10, for flood-damaged homes in unincorporated areas of Melbourne, Palm Bay, West Melbourne, Grant-Valkaria, Barefoot Bay and Malabar, the county announced. Sort debris into two piles:
Household waste: furniture and mattresses.
Construction debris: fencing, plywood, drywall, carpet and flooring.
Keep piles away from trees, mailboxes, water meters and overhead wires. Don’t put gasoline, paint, fertilizers or rechargeable batteries at the curb. Regular garbage and recycling pickup continues as usual, and vegetative waste goes in containers for regular pickup. Flood-affected residents can also take debris to the landfill at no charge.
If you live inside a city, follow your city’s schedule. West Melbourne’s contractor started Monday at 7 a.m. and is making one full pass through the city, including gated communities, WFTV reported.
Help that is open now
Need help now: call 2-1-1 or 321-632-6688 for shelters, food, cleanup help and more.
Free volunteer cleanup: the county’s Brevard Volunteer Connection Portal, linked from United Way Space Coast’s disaster hub at uwspacecoast.org/disaster-response, takes one request per household for mud, debris, damaged furniture and flooring, and wet drywall. Include photos; help depends on volunteers and is not guaranteed.
Businesses: report damage at FloridaDisaster.biz by choosing “2026 Fall Flooding” in the Business Damage Assessment Survey. It measures damage and is not an application for aid.
Donations: United Way’s Flood Response Fund goes to local relief and recovery.
Federal aid: not yet
Federal individual assistance for households needs a presidential major disaster declaration, and the path there is long. As of Friday, the county said it was finishing damage assessments, to be followed by joint assessments with FEMA and the state, a county request to the state, and a request from the governor to FEMA, WFTV reported. A check of FEMA’s declaration data Monday morning found no Florida declarations since Nov. 1. Florida’s state of emergency is a separate, state action.
Palm Bay emergency preparedness coordinator Morgan Combs told WFTV one threshold is showing at least $3 million in damage in Brevard and $42 million statewide. The county is asking every resident and business to report damage on its online form, because those reports feed the request.
The St. Johns is still rising
The St. Johns River near Cocoa read 16.98 feet at 7:15 a.m. Monday, in moderate flood stage and just below the 17-foot major stage. The National Weather Service forecast issued Sunday evening has it at 17 feet through Monday and 17.1 feet from Tuesday morning into the weekend.
At 17 feet, the weather service’s impact notes include flooding to some roads, water approaching low-lying homes in Silver Pines in Rockledge and structures along Pluckebaum Road, and flooding of low-lying structures in the Lake Washington area of Melbourne. At 17.2 feet, slightly above the forecast, water enters homes in the Lake Poinsett area west of Cocoa, and Providence Road can become impassable, cutting off Mullet Lane and Bass Road. These are planning thresholds, not reports of damage.
Based on county announcements as reported by WFTV, United Way Space Coast, FloridaDisaster.biz, FEMA and NOAA data. 321 Daily did not seek comment for this story.
