Large pumps like these area stationed through neighborhoods in Gulf Breeze to help the ease the flooding in city limits.(Photo: Tony Giberson/***@***.***, Tony Giberson/***@***.***)

pnj.com - by Rob Johnson - May 5, 2014

Gulf Breeze water recedes, health concerns rise

UPDATE 8:42 a.m. CDT May 6, 2014

With 16 industrial-sized pumps chugging away and another on the way, the city of Gulf Breeze could be 90 percent sucked dry of the nasty, bacteria-filled floodwater by Wednesday afternoon.

"That's our projection," said Thomas Lambert, assistant director of public services. "We got all of our pumps out. Water is going down. And we're just keeping our eyes on the forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It looks like rain is coming back."

After SWS Environmental Services pumping truck made great headway draining Washington Street on Monday — at a rate of 9,000 gallons of water per hour — Lambert says the company is bringing in a second truck today to help suck up pockets of water that aren't draining elsewhere in the city.

floridadisaster.org - May 5, 2014

Tallahassee, Fla. – On Monday, May 5, Governor Rick Scott requested federal assistance for Florida communities to assist in recovery from the recent severe weather and flooding event. Governor Scott requested a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance for Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties.

“After a disaster, our goal is to work as quickly as possible to help communities recover and rebuild,” said State Coordinating Officer Bryan W. Koon. “While no entity can fully erase the impacts of this disaster, federal assistance will go long way to help those communities return a sense of normalcy.”

If a declaration is received then Individual Assistance will be available to individuals in those qualifying counties. Governor Scott’s initial request is based on Preliminary Damage Assessments, and may be amended to include additional counties as Preliminary Damage Assessments are finalized.

Areas of Gulf Breeze remain underwater on Wednesday afternoon after Tuesday and Wednesday's severe storms in the area.  (Photo: Katie King/***@***.***)

pnj.com - by Rob Johnson - May 3, 2014

Reacting to grumbling by Gulf Breeze residents over the pace of flood response, City Manager Buzz Eddy told the News Journal: "We're doing the best we can."

Eddy was at city hall this morning urging employees to find solutions to the issues plaguing the community.

He acknowledged there are large areas of Gulf Breeze "proper," the older section in which home values average more than $400,000 each, where flooding has forced out residents and hemmed in entire city blocks from vehicle traffic.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

epa.gov

During a flood cleanup, the indoor air quality in your home or office may appear to be the least of your problems. However, failure to remove contaminated materials and to reduce moisture and humidity can present serious long-term health risks. Standing water and wet materials are a breeding ground for microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, and mold. They can cause disease, trigger allergic reactions, and continue to damage materials long after the flood.

(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

floridahealth.gov

The Florida Department of Health has developed this brochure to address some of the most common questions and concerns about indoor mold, how it affects human health, and ways in which you can prevent or remove it.

CLICK HERE - http://www.floridahealth.gov/healthy-environments/mold/index.html

cdc.gov

CDC's Mold Web site provides information on mold and health, an inventory of state indoor air quality programs, advice on assessment, cleanup efforts, and prevention of mold growth, and links to resources.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CDC - Floods

Link to this Tweet - https://twitter.com/HealthyFla/status/461846859552923648

Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County

Contacts - Florida Department of Health in Santa Rosa County

"The Santa Rosa County Health Department bore the worst of the damage [on the county side] with 8 to 15 inches of water totaling roughly $22,000 in damage."
http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/05/04/santa-rosa-flood-fema-damage/8694849/

Storm damage at Floridatown Park (Photo:Tony Giberson/***@***.***)

Santa Rosa County has submitted one of two damage assessments to FEMA totalling millions of dollars

pnj.com - by Will Isern - May 4, 2014

Santa Rosa County and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials have concluded one of two damage assessments to be made in connection with last week's flooding and submitted it to the state for use in the federal disaster declaration process.

According to a release from the county, the "individual assistance" assessment "has met state and federal damage thresholds for individual assistance for residents and businesses." . . .

. . . The report will now go to Gov. Rick Scott who will submit it to the regional FEMA office for President Obama's approval.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Homeowner Marnie Land, right, and her sister Judy Hart, left, surveys Lands flood ravaged home in the Crescent Lake subdivision Friday afternoon. At the height of the last weeks storm Land had more the three-and-half feet of rushing water running through her home.(Photo: Tony Giberson/***@***.***, Tony Giberson/***@***.***)

Learning the ropes and understanding the pitfalls of securing payment on your storm damage insurance claims could make the process easier. Even the noninsured need to document losses for federal aid.

pnj.com - by Kimberly Blair - May 4, 2014

Recovering from last week's flood greatly hinges on how victims navigate the insurance claims process.

The only options for victims without flood insurance, however, will likely be digging into savings, maxing out credit cards, cashing in 401(k) plans and borrowing money from relatives. That's why many residents are counting on federal aid, which will be made available only if President Barack Obama declares our area a disaster.

Kansas Padley and Liza Colegrove of Tybee’s Professional Cleaning of Pensacola remove soggy boxes and material from an East Romana Street garage Friday. The workers were racing against time to clean up the garage and get it dry before mold could set in.(Photo: Photos by Gary Ghioto/***@***.***)

pnj.com - May 3, 2014

When it comes to preventing mold, there is no time to wait . . .

"The best thing to do is get everything that's wet out and cleaned up ... pull up the carpet and pads if it's wet ... then clean everything and get the surface dry,". . .

Northwest Florida residents are familiar with the health dangers and expense tied to mold and have kept remediation businesses extremely busy.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Gulf Breeze resident Joe Johnson by his house on Loruna Drive, flooded a few yards away. (Photo: Rob Johnson/***@***.*** )

The flooding that hit Pensacola and Gulf Breeze last week devastated many homes, but merely isolated others. Peter Walmsley is among those who learned how unexpectedly they could be marooned.

pnj.com - by Rob Johnson - May 4, 2014

The English poet John Donne, who famously wrote that "no man is an island," didn't know Nancy Helmick, or dozens of other Gulf Breeze residents who have been largely isolated by last week's flooding.

Helmick's house on Loruna Drive in the older and relatively inland section of Gulf Breeze, known as "proper," didn't get flooded last week. But on Sunday, five days after the big rain, she was still hemmed in by water at both ends of her block that make it impassable to her two cars and many others along a 300-yard stretch.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

For Immediate Release:
May 2, 2014

Contact:
Michelle Glady
DCF Press Secretary
(850) 717-4450

DCF Issuing EBT Benefits Early to Clients Affected by Panhandle Flooding
Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton clients will receive EBT benefits on May 5 at 12 a.m.

TALLAHASSEE— For the counties of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton the Florida Department of Children and Families is issuing the May distribution of food assistance benefits early on Monday, May 5 in response to the disastrous effects of the Panhandle flooding. The intent of the measure is to ensure that storm-impacted customers have an adequate food supply during the disaster recovery period.

The advance distribution applies only to participants of the regular food assistance program in the affected counties. By issuing May benefits early in the month, current food assistance recipients will be able to access their benefits by using their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card.

Approximately 58,002 households will benefit from the early release.

Florida - State Emergency Response Team - Situation Report No. 3
SPRING 2014 FLOODING UPDATE: Friday, May 02, 2014, 12:00 p.m.
(4 page .PDF report)
http://www.floridadisaster.org/eoc/PressReleases/
05%2002%2014%20SitRep.pdf

Additional Situation Reports and Press Releases (see Right sidebar)
http://www.floridadisaster.org/NewsMedia.asp

Facebook page - Florida Severe Weather Alerts & Disaster Resources
https://www.facebook.com/
floridasevereweatherdisasterresources

A flooded neighborhood at the intersection of South Sunset Drive and Poiciana Drive in Gulf Breeze.(Photo: Rob Johnson/***@***.***)

pnj.com - by Michael Scott Davidson - May 3, 2014

. . . 10:16 a.m. update: A group of residents this morning are giving up on aid and leaving a neighborhood at the intersection of South Sunset Drive and Poiciana Drive in Gulf Breeze. About a dozen people were packing up their belongings, loading their possessions into trucks parked on the other side of water that has cut off the neighborhood for days.

For days, residents in the area have speculated on when help would arrive to pump water out of flooded neighborhoods and provide relief.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)