Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crews rescued and evacuated several people during three days of widespread flooding that stranded vehicles, closed roads and left some neighborhoods under several feet of water. The department said its flood response began Sunday and continued through Tuesday.
The largest operation started around 5 p.m. Sunday in Century Village, an unincorporated area of central Palm Beach County. Firefighters answered more than 70 911 calls from the area, and nearly 100 residents were trapped in cars as the water rose quickly. Crews reported cars floating with people inside and water 3 to 4 feet deep in some spots. Drones with thermal-imaging cameras helped locate people, and firefighters used high-water vehicles and brush trucks to bring residents to higher ground. The department said no injuries were reported during those rescues.
The response continued Monday night in Riviera Beach, where the department’s Urban Search and Rescue Swiftwater Response Team spent nearly 24 hours going door to door in flooded neighborhoods. Crews used rafts and boats, evacuated 71 people, conducted two medical rescues and evacuated nine pets.
The flooding came as the department was also committing personnel and a mobile command post to the aircraft crash site along Military Trail. Overall, the agency responded to more than 1,600 emergency calls countywide over the three days. That total includes all 911 calls, not only flood-related ones.
