WeatherSaturday, November 7
A one-in-1,000-year rain left Palm Beach County streets underwater and alligators in yards
The Jupiter Morning News team
If you've been watching the water, you know this wasn't a normal rainy week. Residents of West Palm Beach's RiverWalk community say they've been trapped for days after a one-in-1,000-year rain event, with streets nearly impassable. Resident Don Gentile called it "an apocalyptic-type event."
Floodwater stood 10 inches deep in Riverwalk and 2 to 3 feet elsewhere
- 10 inches
- of standing water in the Riverwalk community
- 2 to 3 feet
- of water in other pockets of Palm Beach County
Source: Tampa Free Press
The timing was rough. The Tampa Free Press says the storm hit on Election Day and forced officials to relocate multiple polling stations. Gentile also walked a WPTV reporter into his backyard, where they came face to face with an alligator. His neighbor James Whited said, "his head was bigger than a Volkswagen."
- Spotted in the water: fish, venomous snakes and alligators
- Schools: a flooded office kept some children home
- Roads: emergency officials urge drivers to stay off flooded streets
1-in-1,000year rain event, as both reports describe it
Residents say every street in RiverWalk had some flooding.
Sources: Tampa Free Press, WPTV
Frustration is building over drainage. "We're Palm Beach County. We're known for hurricanes and water and rain," resident Debra Zeitz said. The Tampa Free Press says water levels are expected to recede gradually over several days.
Sources: Tampa Free Press, WPTV