Florida Panhandle Flooding Causes Road Closures and Power Outages


Thu. May 1st, 2014 - by Jonathan Nivens

<p>The Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama have been experiencing <B>heavy flooding</b> brought on by <B>record rainfall</b> from a <B>severe storm system</b>, according to USA Today.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">At the Alabama-Florida state line, Interstate 10 was <B>shut down</b> due to high water, leaving people stranded in their cars. Some drivers were forced to abandon their vehicles and walk to safety. A section of Scenic Highway was also wiped out by the rains.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><iframe width="480" height="320" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/X6ZophfbqtU?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"We measured <B>19 inches of rain</b> this morning," said Ron Davis, who works for the City of Gulf Breeze's maintenance segment. "There's not much we can do but wait for this to go down."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"It's gotten to the point where we can't send EMS and fire rescue crews out on some 911 calls because they can't get there," said Public Information Officer Bill Pearson. "We've had people whose homes are flooding and they've had to climb up to the attic."<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><B>Power outages</b> due to the severe weather have also been reported. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued <B>food safety recommendations</b> for people who are experiencing power outages. Check out their video below:<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><iframe width="480" height="320" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2vGAZ64T0uE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><B>Road closures</b> have affected distribution, but it still remains to be seen how crops were affected in Alabama and Florida.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow this story as more details become available.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">