UPDATE:
Flood waters continue to rise on Woodland Drive and Emmett Whaley Road south of Crawfordville. Residents of those areas should contact the Wakulla County Sheriff's Office if they need any assistance evacuating or they have any other needs such as food or water. The flood waters continue to rise in these two areas. The WCSO can be reached at 745-7100.
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Wakulla County - July 1, 2012 -
The Wakulla County Sheriff's Office reminds residents to stay cool and hydrated today as temperatures leap into the 90s and heat indexes soar over 100 degrees.
The Sopchoppy River has dropped below flood level to 25 feet from a high of 36.8 feet in flood stage. Flood stage is 28 feet. The St. Marks River is at 7.6 feet which is minor flood stage. The river was at 9.1 feet at its peak and major flooding is 11 feet. Flood stage is seven feet.
The floodwaters along the rivers and creeks continue to fall. Areas along the Sopchoppy and upper St. Marks rivers are now accessible. The ponding of water from random sinkholes seems to have stabilized in the southern portion of the county. But water continues to rise in the Woodland Drive area of Crawfordville.
The water recession appears to be occurring at a very slow rate and will take several more days to reach a point where some homeowners and relief workers can access their homes.
The damage assessment with 95 percent of the work complete has reached 413 homes damaged with a value of $8.78 million with 40 homes destroyed, 61 with major damage, 43 with minor damage and 271 affected in some manner.
The WCSO has nine roads listed as closed. They are: Smith Creek Road at Syfrette Creek Bridge; Donaldson Williams Road; Surf Road at Buckhorn Creek; Bostic Pelt Road; Dacatur Street; Otter Lake Road at Westview Street; Sopchoppy River Bridge at Rose Street; Sopchoppy River Bridge at Smith Creek Highway; and Woodland Drive.
FEMA and the state SERT assessment group has nearly completed their damage assessment. The teams are assessing both governmental and citizen category damage to determine the county's eligibility for federal disaster aid.
Wakulla County Emergency Management officials are confident the county will meet the threshold for both categories. The county feels strongly that federal disaster assistance is needed for the citizens. But no federal disaster declaration has been declared as of July 1 at 8 a.m.
Citizens can seek non-governmental assistance through the 2-1-1 telephone hotline where they will be connected to several non-profit agencies who can help. Residents who want to help can make a contribution to the Wakulla County Coalition for Youth, P.O. Box 1688, Crawfordville, FL 32326.
The Wakulla County Commission will also host a meeting at 10 a.m. Monday, July 2 to discuss damage with FEMA and public works efforts around the county. The meeting will be in the county commission chambers.
