Caryn Shaffer

The (Stuart, Fla.) News

STUART, Fla. — Officials in Florida’s Palm Beach County announced a mandatory evacuation for communities south of Lake Okeechobee in an "overabundance of caution" ahead of Hurricane Irma.

There are questions about the conditions of the Herbert Hoover Dike along the southern border of the lake, Vice Mayor Melissa McKinley said in a news conference Thursday night.

"We have assurances from the Army Corps of Engineers that the integrity of the dike is good,” McKinley said. “We do have assurances from the National Hurricane Center that they do not expect to see any kind of condition that would cause a breach in the dike. But due to an overabundance of caution, and particular interest from the governor's office, we will be issuing mandatory evacuations from Lake Harbor up to Canal Point that would actually extend over to Lakeport” in neighboring Hendry County.

The evacuation zone include the towns of South Bay, Belle Glade and Pahokee in Palm Beach County.