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Saturday, November 16, 2024

Historic flooding is forcing people to evacuate their houses in Alachua County and the rest of northern Florida.

Experts say that rainfall might cause water levels in rivers such as the Suwannee and Santa Fe to rise further after two weeks of flooding.

"You're not going to have water running down the streets of Gainesville," said Karen Parker, public information coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "But folks living by the river will definitely be affected."

Right now the water is receding, she said, but fallen tree branches and trash, combined with strong currents, could make boating dangerous.

Until conditions improve, the Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers are idle-speed zones.

Parker said the information on how much money will be spent on the recovery and the extent of the damage won't be completely assessed until the water recedes, and that may take days depending on the weather, temperature and evaporation speed.

There's also flooding in other parts of north Florida.

As of Monday morning, there were two confirmed casualties in Okaloosa County. About 125 homes were destroyed and about 100 severely damaged, said Mike Stone, spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Today two service centers are scheduled to open in Madison and Hamilton counties, which were affected most.

Paul Duval, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service forecast office in Tallahassee, said 4 to 6 inches of rainfall are expected in some places today, possibly causing more flooding.

Stone said state road U.S. Highway 90, which was temporarily closed between County Road 255 and Interstate 10 exit 275, reopened Monday afternoon.

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