The remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur delivered a narrow band of 10 to 15 inches of rain to Okaloosa County last week, with areas to the west receiving mid-20-inch totals and beyond, Okaloosa County Public Safety Director Patrick Maddox said in a Monday update.
- Maddox said the system hit “right on the chin” of the threshold at which the county would have needed assistance, a declaration of emergency or additional resources. He said the county had a declaration drafted and ready.
“That’s a very valuable metric to have in our toolbox,” Maddox said. “We’ve been over and under that number before, but this system hit it right on the chin.”
Maddox said the event was reminiscent of Tropical Storm Allison, which dropped 40 inches of rain on the Port of Houston in 2001 and caused more dollar damage than many direct Category 1 hurricane hits. He said one estimate equated the impact in areas to the west of Okaloosa to a “1,000-year storm.”
The event reinforced the county’s approach to tropical weather, Maddox said: making decisions based on expected local impacts rather than the category of the storm.
- “It’s difficult to predict and forecast the evolving, dynamic conditions north of you while simultaneously planning for and responding to emergencies in your own jurisdiction, but that’s what we have to do with riverine impacts,” Maddox said. He noted that the south end of the county did not see much rainfall in this event, but if conditions in the south had matched those in the north, the county would have been stretched thin.
The county activated a “just in time” shelter for residents along the affected rivers, Maddox said. No one attended, but he said the activation gave the county another metric to use for future events. He thanked the City of Crestview, the Red Cross, the Community Organizations Active in Disaster, the Community Emergency Response Team and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office for making the shelter happen.
Damage assessment at the county’s riverfront parks will begin once the rivers recede to the point that access to ramps, docks and public space is safe, Maddox said, with assessments expected by midweek. More rain is forecast for Wednesday, he said, but the rivers should have 12 or more hours before being affected again, and at a much lower level.
Maddox said it is unlikely the county will meet thresholds for Individual Assistance or Public Assistance from the state. The state threshold for Public Assistance is $40 million, and Okaloosa’s Individual Assistance threshold is $1 million. Both have to be met for the county to proceed, he said, and very few counties were impacted to that level, if any.
For residents whose personal properties were affected, Maddox said the event may be a flood insurance matter, though post-event grants have happened before.
“Thank you to all of our first responders and strategic partners who spent the Father’s Day weekend working and protecting our homes and citizens,” Maddox said. “We couldn’t do this without you. More to come.”
