Gators, snakes flee floods
2008-08-22 18:17
Melbourne - 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.
The erratic and stubborn storm has dumped more than 0.61m of rain along parts of Florida's low-lying central Atlantic coast this week. The system continued its slow, wet march on Thursday by curving back from the ocean to hit the state for a third time.
Fay has been responsible for at least 23 deaths in the Caribbean and two in Florida, both women who drowned in rough, storm-churned ocean waves.
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.
At least two alligators were captured in residential neighbourhoods, and several others were spotted near homes.
Waterlogged homes
The threat of alligators, snakes and other creatures is one more problem confronting residents as they clean up their waterlogged homes. Flooding was especially acute along the Atlantic coast from Port St Lucie to Cape Canaveral, with water reaching depths of 1.52m in some neighbourhoods.
Governor Charlie Crist visited the area on Thursday and President George W 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 $12m, mostly from flooding, and $2.6m in damage from beach erosion.
Fay 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 Centre.
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 15cm of rain.
A tropical storm warning was issued for the Gulf Coast of Florida from Aripeka northward and westward to Indian Pass. A Tropical Storm watch was issued from west of Indian Pass to Destin.
With the rain moving to the north, the sun began to dry out some Florida neighbourhoods hit by floods earlier in the week.
- AP