DeSantis Declares a Flood Emergency in Seven Florida Counties as Record Rain Keeps Falling
Thirty-four Florida counties sat under flood watches or warnings Monday as record rainfall drenched the state. The governor's emergency covers Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie counties — and the National Weather Service warned Brevard residents not to travel through floodwater.
Florida's Election Eve storm turned into a state emergency on Monday. Thirty-four counties sat under flood watches or warnings as record rainfall drenched much of the state, and Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in the seven counties hit hardest: Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie. DeSoto County, inland from Charlotte County, puts the emergency declaration inside Southwest Florida's own region, even as the worst of the deluge fell on the Atlantic coast.
Brevard County took the heaviest blow. A Flash Flood Emergency — the National Weather Service's most severe flood alert — was issued for the county amid reports of vehicles stalled in floodwater around Palm Bay, and radar estimates put 18 to 20 inches of rain in 12 hours just south of Palm Bay. The emergency has since expired, but a Flash Flood Warning remains in effect. Brevard Emergency Operations Center executive director John Scott said the south end of the county saw the most significant rainfall, and the weather service warned residents of 'extremely dangerous and life-threatening conditions,' adding: 'Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.' Road closures were also reported in Osceola, Glades and Indian River counties.
The water is rewriting the school week across the state's middle. Schools in Brevard, Glades and Hardee counties were closed Monday; DeSoto County announced its schools will stay closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and Hardee and Brevard schools will be closed Tuesday as well. A flood watch for east-central Florida — Indian River, Martin, St. Lucie, Volusia, Okeechobee and Brevard — runs through Tuesday morning, rain is expected to linger into Tuesday before skies clear midweek, and the weather service in Melbourne warned that while an additional 1 to 2 inches is possible, any additional rainfall could exacerbate the ongoing flooding. Fort Myers, by comparison, spent Monday in a steady soaking of its own: the station's live feed read 71.1 degrees in rain Monday evening, with Election Day reaching 83.3 and a 34 percent rain chance.
