The record flooding that swamped Florida's Space Coast has turned deadly. Palm Bay police have confirmed that a man who went missing during Monday's record-setting rains was found dead in his truck in a flooded-out part of southeast Palm Bay, Florida Today reported. Police identified him as Joshua Bennett, 34. It is the first reported death from the flooding that washed out roadways and trapped residents in cars and homes across southern Brevard County on November 1 and 2.
Source: Florida Today
The Weather Channel independently confirmed the death with the Palm Bay Police Department: its public information officer, Vincent Galioto, told the channel that one adult male died in the floods on Monday. Bennett's family had posted information about his death on social media, Florida Today reported. Police have not released further details about the circumstances, and no other flood deaths had been reported as of Tuesday.
Source: The Weather Channel
This report follows Awaaz Punjab's earlier coverage of Governor Ron DeSantis's emergency order for seven counties and of the Election Day polling places moved by this same flooding in Florida and Oklahoma. The new developments are the first confirmed death, the final rainfall totals and the start of damage assessment. Read the earlier emergency-order report
24.10 inches near Malabar: the final rain totals
The National Weather Service in Melbourne called the storm an 'extraordinary, intense period of rain' and a one-in-a-1,000-year event. The Weather Prediction Center's final accounting put the highest total at 24.10 inches (612 mm) near Malabar in southern Brevard County, with 20.60 inches near Palm Bay and 19.80 inches near Melbourne Beach, measured from 7 a.m. EST on November 1 to 9 p.m. EST on November 2. The Weather Service's own gauge list showed 23.69 inches in north Grant-Valkaria and 23.44 inches in east Malabar, 19.75 inches at Palm Bay, 13.88 inches in southeast Melbourne Beach and 13.11 inches in Melbourne.
Source: The Watchers / Weather Prediction Center
The rain fell so fast that the Weather Service escalated to its highest flood alert. A Flash Flood Emergency — the top-tier warning, reserved for life-threatening flooding — was declared for West Melbourne and Palm Bay at 7:56 a.m. EST on Monday, November 2, and extended to Grant-Valkaria by 11:35 a.m., with the damage threat classified as catastrophic. The emergency was later stepped down to a flash flood warning, and a coastal flood advisory remained in effect around high tides.
Source: The Watchers / National Weather Service
Rescues by airboat, helicopter and high-water truck
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers completed more than 60 rescues in Brevard County on Monday, working in Melbourne and Palm Bay with helicopters, reconnaissance drones, airboats and shallow-water vessels; in one case, aviation crews pulled a man from Crane Creek after he was found clinging to a palm tree. Separately, Brevard Emergency Management spokesman Don Walker told Florida Today that sheriff's deputies helped more than 100 people caught in rising water while driving, and airboats pulled at least seven residents from flooded homes in the Wingate subdivision in West Melbourne.
Source: The Florida Press
In Palm Bay, the city hardest hit, Fire Rescue Assistant Chief John Ringleb said crews had run high-water rescues since 5 a.m. Monday and that dozens of cars were left stranded in floodwater; the department converted its three new brush trucks into high-water response vehicles to reach motorists. Palm Bay police reported vehicles stuck and, in places, sinking, and urged residents not to drive through flooded roads — the conditions in which Bennett was found.
Source: Florida Today
Emergency order, closed schools and broken water mains
Governor Ron DeSantis's Executive Order 26-227, signed Monday, declared a state of emergency in seven counties — Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie — for 60 days, putting the Florida Division of Emergency Management in charge of the response and allowing the Florida National Guard and Florida State Guard to be mobilised if needed. Brevard Public Schools closed every campus and district office on November 2 and 3 while crews inspected buildings, and expected to reopen on Wednesday, November 4, if conditions allowed; Eastern Florida State College campuses also closed, and Florida Tech cancelled Tuesday classes.
Source: The Watchers
The flooding also broke the water system. A water-main break along Port Malabar Boulevard in Palm Bay interrupted service to some customers because crews could not safely reach the site, and the city planned a boil-water notice for affected homes once service returned; the city of Melbourne issued a precautionary boil-water notice for all of its water customers. Flooding closed a stretch of U.S. 192 in West Melbourne on Monday evening, and lingering floodwater and abandoned vehicles continued to block routes on Tuesday, hindering emergency response. The American Red Cross opened a shelter at Parker Memorial Missionary Baptist Church in Cocoa.
Source: The Watchers
Brevard County is crossed by Interstate 95, U.S. 1 and U.S. 192 — routes used daily by commuters and freight, including Punjabi truckers running Florida's east coast. Officials warn that standing water can hide washed-out roadbeds, debris and downed lines even after the rain stops, and that no driver should cross a flooded road: Bennett's truck was found in a flooded-out area after he was reported missing. Check county road closures before travelling, and treat every boil-water notice as in force until the city lifts it.
What happens next
County leaders said damage assessment begins now that the rain has moved out, including checking for damage to roadbeds hidden beneath standing water — a process Palm Bay Fire Rescue said is not yet complete for homes or vehicles. The National Weather Service expects the St. Johns River near Cocoa to rise from minor into moderate flood stage by mid to late week, so some flooding will linger days after the storm. Schools are expected back on Wednesday, the emergency order runs for 60 days, and police have yet to release full details of Bennett's death, which remains under investigation.
Source: The Florida Press