Floridian fallout: alligators, snakes and other critters driven from their swampy lairs into flooded streets, backyards and doorsteps.

Floridian fallout: alligators, snakes and other critters driven from their swampy lairs into flooded streets, backyards and doorsteps. A small row boat with fishing gear and an oversized teddy-bear belonging to Eddie Loftus, not shown, is seen near his Merritt Island, Fla., home.National Guardsman Steve Johnson was wading through hip-deep water Wednesday night when his flashlight revealed an alligator drifting through a neighborhood of flooded mobile homes.“I said, ’The heck is that?’ and there was an alligator floating by,” Johnson said. “I took my flashlight and was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me, a big old alligator swimming around here.” ’The erratic and stubborn storm has dumped more than 2 feet of rain along parts of Florida’s low-lying central Atlantic coast this week. The system continued its slow, wet march Thursday by curving back from the ocean to hit the state for a third time.As for Western North Carolina, the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay might bring light rain early next week. “There is a chance you might see some showers,” said Paul Speranza, a Hendersonville weather expert.The storm has wandered along the Florida coast and is now predicted to hug the southern gulf coast. It has dumped nearly two feet of rain in some areas of the state.
Earlier in the week, the National Weather Service had forecast the tropical storm would hit Western North Carolina directly. But a high-pressure system developed over the mid-Atlantic, preventing the storm from traveling northward.“She’s taking the southern route, and that is not very beneficial to us,” Speranza said.
Western North Carolina’s forecast includes has a 30 percent chance of rain Monday, a 40 percent chance Tuesday, a 40 percent chance Wednesday and a 30 percent chance Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. “We have several days where we have a chance to get considerable rainfall,” Weather Service Meteorologist Neil Dixon said.The region needs the rain, as Western North Carolina is in an extreme drought. River levels are at record lows, and the soil has limited moisture. Asheville Regional Airport has normally recorded 2.76 inches of rain in late August. This year, the airport has only received a scant .4 inches of rain for the month. For the year, the region is 11.11 below normal.“Every day we don’t get rainfall we increase the deficit,” Dixon said.Tropical Storm Fay’s exact course is still not known. She is predicted to head north into Alabama and Georgia over the weekend and early next week, but a lot depends on the high pressure, Dixon said.
“It’s too early to say how much rain (the region will get),” he said, but added that some models look good for the area. “Henderson County is looking quite good because it is on the windward side of the mountains.”
Alligators live in all 67 Florida counties, and state officials say they receive more than 18,000 alligator-related complaints each year. But the floodwaters heighten the risk of an encounter with people because the creatures search for a safe place to wait out the storm.“They are trying to find dry land, someplace to hide,” said officer Lenny Salberg of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.The threat of alligators, snakes and other creatures is one more problem confronting weary residents as they clean up their waterlogged homes. At least two alligators were captured in residential neighborhoods, and several others were spotted near homes.In Carla Viotto’s backyard in Indialantic, outside of Melbourne, snakes were swimming around in 4 inches of water.“It looked just like a junk yard,” she said.Flooding was especially acute along the Atlantic coast from Port St. Lucie to Cape Canaveral, with water reaching depths of 5 feet in some neighborhoods. Gov. Charlie Crist visited the area Thursday and President Bush issued a federal disaster declaration for the affected parts of Florida to help with the storm’s costs.Brevard County officials estimated building damage would cost $12 million, mostly from flooding, and $2.6 million in damage from beach erosion.
“This is the worst I’ve absolutely ever seen it,” said Mike White, 57, who was rescued by the National Guard as water crept up to the door of his mobile home.Fay, which was responsible for at least 23 deaths in the Caribbean and two in Florida, is just the fourth storm in recorded history to hit the Florida peninsula with tropical storm intensity three separate times. The most recent was Hurricane Donna in 1960, according to Daniel Brown, a specialist at the National Hurricane Center.Police said an Indiana tourist drowned after going swimming in rough waters churned up by the storm at Neptune Beach. To the south in Volusia County, authorities reported a second woman also drowned in Fay-generated waves.Flooding was also possible in Georgia, where the southern half of the state’s Atlantic coastline was under a tropical storm warning. Some parts of Georgia could get up to 6 inches of rain.In the town of St. Marys, Mary Neff watched the rain from the Spencer House Inn, which she owns with her husband.“We’re pulling in our plants and porch furniture, making sure we have our supplies and gas for the generator,” said Neff, who had three couples cancel weekend reservations. “I still think we all need to stay on our toes.” Fay hovered for hours just off the Florida coast on Thursday before creeping ashore again. At 8 p.m. EDT, the storm was located just west of Flagler Beach and was moving west at about 2 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It still had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph but was forecast to gradually weaken.A tropical storm watch was posted for the Gulf coast of Florida from the Suwannee River to Indian Pass, in case the storm emerges over water again.With the rain moving to the north, the sun began to dry out some Florida neighborhoods hit by floods earlier in the week. The mood was considerably brighter for many residents who were finally able to get out of their homes.“I’m ready to get back to work. This is insane. It’ll drive you nuts being stuck like this,” said Barry Johnson, 44, of Port St. Lucie.