Fay flooding central Florida
Tropical storm may drop as much as 30 inches of rain
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Tropical Storm Fay’s torrential downpours flooded people out of their homes, forced airboat evacuations and threatened to so overwhelm emergency officials that Gov. Charlie Crist requested a federal disaster declaration.
“This storm is turning into a serious catastrophic flooding event, particularly in southern Brevard County,” Crist said, calling the deluge historic. “Some areas could see rainfall of as much as 30 inches.”
By the time Crist requested the federal aid from President Bush on Wednesday afternoon, Fay had unexpectedly parked itself near Cape Canaveral. The churning system dropped nearly two feet of rain in some spots, submerging cropland and swamping front yards with backed-up sewage.
Fay so far has spun off tornadoes that touched down in seven counties, including one Brevard twister that demolished nine homes and damaged some 40 more, officials said.
Though Fay never grew into a hurricane, it cut power to tens of thousands from the Gulf to the Atlantic coasts. It was blamed for one death in Florida – a Highlands County man overcome by carbon-monoxide fumes as he tested a generator in his garage long before the storm arrived.
Fay has consistently bedeviled forecasters, emergency officials and residents alike. It weakened when it was expected to strengthen and strengthened when it was forecast to weaken. When it was supposed to leave, it stayed.
And it rained. And rained.
“There was rain down the road, and it was up to my chest. And I’m six feet tall. I was shocked,” said Daniel Horrach, who has lived in Port St. Lucie for 10 years.
“This is the worst flooding I’ve seen,” Horrach said, comparing it to storms that lashed the area in 2004. “I’ve seen Jeanne and Frances and they did more damage, but this is more water.”
Even more is on the way.
Fay was projected to make a rare third landfall in Florida – it hit Key West on Monday and then Cape Romano on Tuesday – near St. Augustine early today.