The Space Coast's historic flood has killed a second person. At a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Palm Bay Mayor Rob Medina named the second victim as Archie Richards, 78, and said he was not sure whether additional loss of life will be reported. Both Richards and the first confirmed victim, 34-year-old Joshua Bennett, died on Monday, November 2, as floodwater swallowed streets, homes and cars across southern Brevard County, Florida. Awaaz Punjab reported Bennett's death earlier on Tuesday, when police confirmed he had been found in his truck in a flooded part of southeast Palm Bay along San Filippo Road; the mayor's announcement of a second death, and the widening rescue and damage picture, came after that report.
Source: ABC News
The search is not over. Palm Bay police told Florida Today that two people were officially reported missing, and search-and-rescue work continued overnight and through Tuesday, with crews still finding people stranded in vehicles in heavily flooded areas — some as late as 2 a.m. on Tuesday. Mayor Medina said emergency crews have rescued hundreds of people from flooded areas using boats and special high-water vehicles since the rain began on Sunday.
Source: Florida Today
Hundreds pulled from the water
The rescues ran around the clock. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says it alone rescued more than 60 people in Brevard County on Monday, and FWC officers later deployed into St. Lucie County as the flooding spread south. Airboats pulled at least seven residents from their homes in the Wingate subdivision in West Melbourne, and an FWC helicopter airlifted a Florida Tech student who had been caught in a current near Crane Creek. Palm Bay Fire Rescue converted all three of its new brush trucks into high-water response vehicles so crews could keep reaching stranded motorists and emergencies on flooded roads.
Source: The Weather Channel / Florida Today
For some families the water came inside. Medina told reporters that one family reported 38 inches of water had filled their living room. Palm Bay police have urged residents not to risk driving through flooded areas, with reports of vehicles getting stuck and some even sinking — the danger that killed Bennett, whose truck was found in deep water in the city's southeast.
Source: ABC News
Sinkholes, washed-out roads and a community cut in two
As the water begins to recede, the damage underneath it is surfacing. At Palm Bay Estates, a community for residents 55 and older, a large sinkhole destroyed what had been a key road connection for residents. Board President Terry Stuhlmiller said the flooding arrived fast and with overwhelming force — 'It looked like Niagara Falls over here at one point' — and estimated that about half the community, roughly 80 to 100 people, live beyond the stretch where the road washed out. Across Brevard County, the flooding has left large sinkholes swallowing sections of roads, damaged homes in some places and stranded residents in others, and local leaders say crews are now shifting from rescue to assessing and repairing damaged infrastructure as water levels drop.
Source: Florida Today via Gator Current
How a Gulf low-pressure system drowned the Space Coast
The disaster was built by a low-pressure system over the Gulf of Mexico that drove continuous onshore flow over the Florida peninsula on Sunday and Monday. Up to two feet of rain fell in southern Brevard County in about two days — 24.10 inches at the highest gauge near Malabar — leading to catastrophic flooding of streets, homes and businesses. Flood alerts began late Sunday night and were upgraded Monday morning to a flash flood emergency for Palm Bay and surrounding communities, the National Weather Service's top-tier flood warning, as heavy rain kept falling on the 15 to 20 inches that had already come down. The same system flooded parts of St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties and forced election officials to move polling places on Tuesday.
Source: ABC News / The Weather Channel
A National Weather Service flood warning remains in effect until 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for southeastern Brevard County, eastern Indian River County, northeastern Martin County and St. Lucie County. Officials warn flooding can continue even after the rain stops, because the water may take several days to drain.
What happens next
Brevard Public Schools will remain closed on Wednesday — a third consecutive day — because of campus damage, flooded roads and water service outages, district spokesperson Janet Murnaghan said. Officials across the county warn that rivers, including the St. Johns, may keep rising even as the rain eases, and that full drainage will take days. For the county's families — including the Indian and Punjabi households who have settled around Palm Bay and Melbourne, one of Florida's faster-growing corners — the immediate questions are the two people still reported missing, the roads and water mains that need repair, and how long neighbourhoods like Palm Bay Estates stay cut off. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as officials confirm the toll and the missing are accounted for.
Source: Florida Today