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Map Shows Florida Community Drenched in Over 2 Feet of Rain

June 14, 2024


Southern Florida was inundated with rain this week and one community in particular endured more than two feet in the deluge since Monday.

“28” OF RAIN is the highest official total from days of soaking showers & storms across Southern Florida, via@NWSMiami. It was in Collier County at the Big Cypress National Preserve Headquarters in Ochopee,” local news station WINK’s Chief Meteorologist Matt Devitt posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday,

Ochopee is a community south of Naples and Fort Myers, Florida, on the state’s southwest coast. The southeast coast of Florida was also battered with floodwaters this week in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday declared a State of Emergency for Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties amid the “major flooding.”

Newsweek has reached out to the National Weather Service (NWS) via email on Friday for additional comment.

DeSantis on Friday said nearly 100 water pumps are being used in the state as water levels are receding. “In the worst of it, you still have some of the RV and mobile home parks that have a lot of standing water,” added the governor. The Sunshine State also had a “dry spell” DeSantis said, and that the area did hold a lot of water but there was “so much inundation” of rainwater in a short window of time.

On Thursday, a “high risk” of excessive rainfall was issued from Naples across the state to Broward and Miami-Dade counties, according to NWS Miami. In a post to X, the agency said: “A *HIGH* Risk of Excessive Rainfall (level 4/4 risk) has been issued for the I-75 Corridor. This means that widespread flash flooding is expected. *Locally catastrophic flash flooding is possible.*”

Florida rain
A boater on Thursday is pictured next to a semi-submerged car in Hallandale Beach, Florida. South Florida’s Ochopee was doused by more than two feet of rain this week. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

On Thursday morning, South Florida also saw the “shocking scope” of the flooding, according to NWS Miami. Residents were advised to stay out of the waters, as fuel sheen glazed the “murky” waters littered with several floating cars.

Floridians were also advised not to drive their vehicles into floodwaters due to “unknown” depths. NWS Miami said in a post on Thursday, in part: “If your vehicle stalls, abandon it immediately & seek higher ground.”

The Federal Aviation Administration warned travelers headed to Florida on Thursday to be aware of the weather and to expect delays. The South Florida Red Cross also announced open shelter sites in Pembroke Pines and North Miami on Friday “for anyone who needs a safe place to stay.”