Flash Flood — Escambia, Florida

2014-04-29 to 2014-04-30 · near Gulf Beach, Escambia, Florida

Event narrative

Central and southern Escambia county experienced historic flooding the night of April 29th into the early morning of April 30th. Nearly 2 feet of rain fell across portions of southern Escambia County. Pensacola International Airport recorded a storm total of 20.47 inches. 1687 residential homes suffered major flooding with 12 inches of water or more. 1518 residential homes suffered minor flooding with less than 12 inches of water. 13 homes were destroyed. 117 commercial businesses experienced major damage.

Widespread infrastructure damage, totaling $90 million, occurred with numerous roads, bridges, and drainage systems heavily damaged or destroyed.

Numerous water rescues took place during the height of the event due to the rapid rise of water. A 67 year old Pensacola woman drowned when her vehicle was submerged by flood waters on U.S. 29 near Cantonment, FL.

Wider weather episode

A strong storm system brought record flooding along with severe thunderstorms that produced damaging winds and tornadoes to the region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (30.2953, -87.4471)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 516957. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.