Fay Floodwaters Pose Unusual Dangers

Floods Carry Alligators, Snakes Into Streets And Backyards

(CBS/AP)  As if a fourth straight day of rain from Tropical Storm Fay wasn't enough, weary residents are now dealing with quintessentially Floridian fallout: alligators, snakes and other critters driven from their swampy lairs into flooded streets, backyards and doorsteps.

National Guardsman Steve Johnson was wading through hip-deep water Wednesday night when his flashlight revealed an alligator drifting through a neighborhood of flooded mobile homes.

"I said, 'The heck is that?' and there was an alligator floating by," Johnson said. "I took my flashlight and was like, 'You've got to be kidding me, a big old alligator swimming around here."'

The erratic and stubborn storm has dumped more than 2 feet of rain along parts of Florida's low-lying central Atlantic coast this week. The system continued its slow, wet march Thursday by curving back from the ocean to hit the state for a third time.

Alligators live in all 67 Florida counties, and state officials say they receive more than 18,000 alligator-related complaints each year. But the floodwaters heighten the risk of an encounter with people because the creatures search for a safe place to wait out the storm.

"They are trying to find dry land, someplace to hide," said officer Lenny Salberg of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The threat of alligators, snakes and other creatures is one more problem confronting weary residents as they clean up their waterlogged homes. At least two alligators were captured in residential neighborhoods, and several others were spotted near homes.

In Carla Viotto's backyard in Indialantic, outside of Melbourne, snakes were swimming around in 4 inches of water.

"It looked just like a junk yard," she said.

Flooding was especially acute along the Atlantic coast from Port St. Lucie to Cape Canaveral, with water reaching depths of 5 feet in some neighborhoods. Gov. Charlie Crist visited the area Thursday and President Bush issued a federal disaster declaration for the affected parts of Florida to help with the storm's costs.

Brevard County officials estimated building damage would cost $12 million, mostly from flooding, and $2.6 million in damage from beach erosion.

"This is the worst I've absolutely ever seen it," said Mike White, 57, who was rescued by the National Guard as water crept up to the door of his mobile home.

Rising waters from Fay flooded a Central Florida hospital's emergency room entrance and forced officials to divert patients away from the facility Thursday night, reports CBS affiliate WKMG-TV in Orlando

"This is definitely something we consider very serious," Florida Hospital Fish Memorial Administrator Joe Johnson said. "We are looking at an 'all hands on deck' kind of thing where we call in extra help. This is not something you see every day."

Flood victims were warned about rivers of raw sewage possibly flowing through some Florida neighborhoods, reports WKMGM

The state's surgeon general, Ana Viamonte Ros, notified Floridians Thursday about fecal matter danger created by the stalled weather system.

"We just wanted to reiterate again the importance of making sure children do not play in flooded areas," Viamonte Ros said. "We have had reports of raw sewage in some of these flooded plains. Please make sure children (stay out) because there could be downed powered lines (and) there is sewage."

Fay, which was responsible for at least 23 deaths in the Caribbean and two in Florida, is just the fourth storm in recorded history to hit the Florida peninsula with tropical storm intensity three separate times. The most recent was Hurricane Donna in 1960, according to Daniel Brown, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

Police said an Indiana tourist drowned after going swimming in rough waters churned up by the storm at Neptune Beach. To the south in Volusia County, authorities reported a second woman also drowned in Fay-generated waves.

Flooding was also possible in Georgia, where the southern half of the state's Atlantic coastline was under a tropical storm warning. Some parts of Georgia could get up to 6 inches of rain.

In the town of St. Marys, Mary Neff watched the rain from the Spencer House Inn, which she owns with her husband.

"We're pulling in our plants and porch furniture, making sure we have our supplies and gas for the generator," said Neff, who had three couples cancel weekend reservations. "I still think we all need to stay on our toes."

Fay hovered for hours just off the Florida coast Thursday before creeping ashore again. At 8 p.m. EDT, the storm was located just west of Flagler Beach and was moving west at about 2 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It still had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph but was forecast to gradually weaken.

A tropical storm watch was posted for the Gulf coast of Florida from the Suwannee River to Indian Pass, in case the storm emerges over water again.

With the rain moving to the north, the sun began to dry out some Florida neighborhoods hit by floods earlier in the week. The mood was considerably brighter for many residents who were finally able to get out of their homes.

"I'm ready to get back to work. This is insane. It'll drive you nuts being stuck like this," said Barry Johnson, 44, of Port St. Lucie.

[displeased]

No doubt your part of the country is beautiful to you, that''''s great, our elevations are above 7000ft, VA is what? Almost sea level?
Posted by deacon20081

Our highest elevation in Virginia is 5,728, Mt Rogers.

[pirmin3]

BBQ gator is good. So is snake soup - a Chinese delicacy. Residents should thank mother nature for throwing all this bounty their way.

[deacon20081]

Alligators and snakes? Free of charge? Now we don''''t have to pay the high prices for admission to all of the theme parks down there!!
Posted by boloro6996
---------------------------------------------------

I could use a nice pair of Gator Boots.....Is it poaching iffin you shoot em in your garage?

[deacon20081]

mountains in VA!! LOL!! you have hills you hillbillie. I live out west, in the Rocky''''''''s, now those are mountains!

Posted by zgomer at 05:10 PM : Aug 21, 2008


You are just jealous because your mountains can''''t grow trees or flowers or much of anything else.. (smirk) Our mountains in the east have aged and mellowed enough to be more beautiful, or at least beautiful in a different way, than yours.
Posted by gramto8 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spoken like an arrogant yankee who has never been more than 50 miles from home in your life.
The mountains of Northern NM, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming are God''s Country. Before you say silly things you should come and see for yourself.

No doubt your part of the country is beautiful to you, that''s great, our elevations are above 7000ft, VA is what? Almost sea level?

[missingamerica]

You are just jealous because your mountains can''''t grow trees or flowers or much of anything else.. (smirk) Our mountains in the east have aged and mellowed enough to be more beautiful, or at least beautiful in a different way, than yours.

Posted by gramto8 at 12:07 AM : Aug 22, 2008

Beautiful, for now...until another energy crisis is arranged and a "strip mine here, strip mine now" law is shoved through Congress - and the tops of all of those mountains are ripped off like the lid on a sardine tin...

[gramto8]

mountains in VA!! LOL!! you have hills you hillbillie. I live out west, in the Rocky''''s, now those are mountains!

Posted by zgomer at 05:10 PM : Aug 21, 2008


You are just jealous because your mountains can''t grow trees or flowers or much of anything else.. (smirk) Our mountains in the east have aged and mellowed enough to be more beautiful, or at least beautiful in a different way, than yours.

[gramto8]

Myopinion1, you forgot forest fires and tornadoes. There is nothing good about living in Florida. I also forgot poisonous snakes.

Posted by Myopinion21 at 10:31 AM : Aug 21, 2008

You also forgot the fact that there is no Florida left; it is all pavement and houses now. There formerly was a beautiful state down south of Georgia and Alabama, but it is no more.

[missingamerica]

Ya notice how none of the talking heads on the MSM have hypothesized:

"Hey, what would happen if we had oil wells up and down Florida''s coast, and a Cat 5 Hurricane got hinky like this storm and just bounced back and forth along both of Florida''s coasts?"

lollll...gee, maybe mother nature is throwing a hint...

[ubrew12]

Keithle1 said: "Don''t want to go back to the Sunshine State. Hurricane-prone areas don''t do it for me. " Exceptions: the NE coast, north of Cape Canaveral. The keys: awesome. And possibly the NW extreme edge, which just LOOKS awesome from a map. Seen Orlando, Disney-fake, Miasma, etc. Leave it.

[boloro6996]

Alligators and snakes? Free of charge? Now we don''t have to pay the high prices for admission to all of the theme parks down there!!

[keithle1]

You can have california too, imprisonkarl. I have lived out there. Not a fan. Would never go back there to live. California has mudslides, wildfires, etc.

People in Florida put up with a lot to live near the ocean & not have to shovel snow. I have been to Tampa for a short visit. Nowhere else in Florida. Don''t want to go back to the Sunshine State. Hurricane-prone areas don''t do it for me. Too many old folks.
They rule down there, no?

To each his own to be sure. Got to be somewhere in the big old USA that someone will enjoy & be happy.

[kamsack50]

About 90 people were killed by Hurricane Hazel (''s remnants) by flooding in Toronto, Canada in 1954.

[seafang]

So it rained in Florida; happens all the time. It also rains other places. Get used to it. (except in California).Ho hum !

maybe CBS can get the Communist Red Chinese to fake a big hurricane for them so they can slam George Bush with it. It would make a good closing ceremony for the Nolympics.

[hungryman9]

Fay is Gods way of punishing Floridians for thinking about voting for the Anti-Christ Barack Hussein Obama..

Locust will come next if they do not change their ways..
Posted by AmericaBiker
******************************
Biker, that can''t be it. We are voting for McCain and I don''t think God would punish us for voting for McCain.

[gheemaster38]

Get rid of the Illegals, the Cubans and the other non whites and things will be fine..

Posted by AmericaBiker

Naw you would have to find other people to hate on then. Maybe red heads? People with green eyes? Blonds, Brunettes? Hate never ends. Neither does racism and foolishness

[sly_64]

Fine, I''m not an illegal nor an immigrant, but I love hurricanes and tropical storms. So I can stay.

[antoniof123]

The south is being punished by god for supporting Bushwhacker!!!

Posted by bm6005 at 12:11 PM : Aug 21, 2008

I live in Fort Lauderdale and we are fine plus most people down here didn''t vote for the Bushwhacker nor I hope will they vote for McSame.

[displeased]

Most of the other states you mentioned have far less than 5% of the land area within the state that is prone to tidal surge, which is the major factor here.
Posted by lbl2001

I live in the mountains of Virginia and hurricane Hugo caused quite a bit of wind and flood damage. No tidal surges obviously, but still flooding from the 10" or so of rain. The damage wasn''t as intense as some of the storms I experienced living on the coast, but inland damage is still possible and does occasionally happen.

[sly_64]

Some hurricanes (or what''s left of them) have actually caused damage in Canada.

[sly_64]

lbl2001 :

I''m talking about costs ! Hurricanes and/or tropical systems went through these states to make up the most costliest hurricanes. I know my geography very well. Systems come on shore and still do damage way after landfall. My source was "hurricane.accuweather.com". I don''t make things up.