Flood news

Michael and Latanya Benefield woke about 1 a.m. Monday to a pool of water about a foot deep in their first-floor Balch Springs apartment. They watched as it rose for hours, soaking into the boxes they had packed for their upcoming move in September. Several of the boxes held keepsakes of Latanya Benefield’s mother, who died two years ago. On Tuesday, the couple hauled away a ruined mattress and other belongings, items they say State Farm won’t cover because their rental insurance doesn’t include flood coverage. Kathy Robnett, the property manager of the Spring Oaks apartment complex in Balch Springs, where the Benefields live, said she has 23 units “that are homeless at this point,” adding a majority of them were three-bedroom units that housed families. Michael and Latanya Benefield woke about 1 a.m. Monday to a pool of water about a foot deep in their first-floor Balch Springs apartment. (Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer) Susan and Gary McDaniel have lived in their house near Hickory Creek on Forest Glenn Lane in Balch Springs for 44 years. They said the area, heavily wooded with several tributaries, floods often. ”But it was getting kind of scary,” Susan McDaniel said, “I’ve never seen [the water] stay that long.” Eventually the couple called the Fire Department to help them leave. She and Gary donned lifejackets and the department guided the couple, while holding their dog Lucy, through the waist-deep water. Gary McDaniel said the boards he put up inside at the bott...

Published June 16, 2023 5:49am EDT Flash Flood Emergency prompts water rescues in Pensacola, Florida, as foot of rain falls in hours Flash Flood Emergencies covering over 100,000 people, stretching from Pensacola through Warrington and Myrtle Grove as spotter reports to the National Weather Service indicate flooded roads and homes with waters rising. As much as 8-15 inches of rain fell across Pensacola, Florida on Thursday night and Friday morning, triggering widespread flooding and Flash Flood Emergency alerts. (Video: Rie Merritt via Storyful) "Life-threatening flooding ongoing in Warrington, Downtown and West Pensacola with likely well over 1 foot of rainfall falling," The National Weather Service in Mobile warned. "Flash flooding is also likely occurring across most of the metro Pensacola area." The NWS estimates some areas have received 8-15 inches of rain over just several hours, with more rain likely to fall through the morning. A rain gauge in Gulf Breeze reported 14.08 inches in 6 hours while Pensacola airport reported 9.23 inches of rain in a 5-hour period. "Extremely busy night for us," said Deputy Fire Chief Paul Williams with Escambia County Fire. "There's been numerous water rescues, flooding condition calls, rescuing folks from their houses or their cars when they're driving through some intersections that are submerged with water." One found dead after tree falls into Florida home Emergency officials are reporting multiple water rescues across the Escambia ...