By FMNN Staff | PALM BAY | Nov. 2, 2026
Disclosure: Florida Man News Network's editorial board has made endorsements in the 2026 election. This is a news report, separate from those opinions.
UPDATE, 5:15 p.m.: Minutes before this story was published, FOX 35 reported at 4:57 p.m. that Gov. Ron DeSantis had declared a state of emergency for Brevard, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands, Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie counties. Palm Beach County is not included. As of publication, the order was not posted on the governor's website, the governor had made no public remarks on the flooding, and no other state action had been announced.
What happened
A stalled low-pressure system pulled deep tropical moisture over Florida's Atlantic coast this weekend. It was not a tropical storm or depression; the National Hurricane Center listed no Atlantic cyclones Monday.
Brevard County. The National Weather Service in Melbourne declared a Flash Flood Emergency, its most severe flood alert, for West Melbourne and Palm Bay Monday morning, later adding Grant-Valkaria. By 3:36 p.m. its gauges showed 16 to 22 inches of rain. Fox Weather said radar estimates of 18 to 20 inches in 12 hours south of Palm Bay would make it a 1,000-year event.
Crews used high-water trucks to pull people from homes. Palm Bay Fire Rescue turned three brush trucks into high-water vehicles and asked the state for two more, FOX 35 reported. Sheriff Wayne Ivey said 911 was "inundated." Turkey Creek overflowed and washed out part of Port Malabar Road. A water main broke, and Palm Bay says a boil-water notice will follow once service returns. Schools, courts, Eastern Florida State College and Health First sites closed. Brightline stopped running between Orlando and West Palm Beach.
Palm Beach County. Up to a foot of rain fell overnight from West Palm Beach to Palm Beach Gardens; one meteorologist reported 17 inches in six hours in Palm Beach Gardens. In Riviera Beach's Lone Pine Estates, Ben Nguyen told CBS12 water came into his garage at 7:30 p.m. Sunday and through the house within an hour. "I just basically just sit in my house and crying all night," he said. He has no flood insurance. Neighbor Lewis Brown, a heart-transplant patient, said, "You can't leave your house, you're stranded."
Treasure Coast. Indian River and St. Lucie counties declared local emergencies Monday afternoon; Indian River's took effect at 2:30 p.m.
Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Miami just ended an 11-day run of moderate tidal flooding, the longest on record. Fort Lauderdale closed the Las Olas Bridge during record king tides.
No flood deaths had been reported as of Monday afternoon. Nine people died Sunday when a Learjet crashed onto Military Trail in Greenacres; about 600 residents of 77 mobile homes remain displaced.
Who sounded the alarm
The warnings came from the National Weather Service, not the state. NWS Melbourne put south Brevard under a flood watch starting 10 a.m. Sunday and escalated to a Flash Flood Emergency Monday morning. NWS Miami issued flood advisories for Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Sunday afternoon.
But the forecasts badly missed how much rain would fall. Orlando TV forecasts Sunday called for 1 to 3 inches, isolated 5 to 7. Parts of Brevard got three times that or more.
Before Monday evening, FMNN found no state alert or emergency order for this flooding. Brevard County's own Storm Center page still read "Brevard County Government is at normal operations" Monday while county offices were closed, and it said sandbags were "not needed."
Who has responded
Riviera Beach unanimously declared a local state of emergency Monday. "It's been devastation for our community," Mayor Douglas Lawson said.
Palm Beach County declared a local emergency and, County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo said, is seeking an executive order from DeSantis "recognizing the emergency at the state level, which could allow it to access additional funds." (The announcement came at a briefing on the jet crash; it is not clear whether the county's declaration covers flooding.)
Indian River and St. Lucie counties declared local emergencies Monday afternoon.
Palm Bay and Melbourne ordered residents to shelter in place.
Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Palm Beach County Sunday for the crash, calling it "like a missile coming down." He said nothing publicly about the flooding all day Monday. At about 4:57 p.m., roughly nine hours after the Flash Flood Emergency was issued, FOX 35 reported he had declared a state of emergency for seven counties. Palm Beach was not among them.
FEMA: no action or statement.
What the state order does, and doesn't
A state of emergency lets Florida move state money, equipment and personnel and waive rules for the response. It is also the first step toward federal help. But it is not a request for federal aid.
Under the Stafford Act, "all requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the Governor of the affected State." A president can declare an emergency without being asked only when the federal government has primary responsibility, such as the Oklahoma City bombing or COVID-19. A rain flood doesn't qualify.
FEMA individual assistance and SBA disaster loans for families still wait on a written request from Tallahassee. Counties can't apply on their own. And Palm Beach County, left out of the state order, can only keep asking.
The one thing that needs no declaration: if you have a flood insurance policy (NFIP or private), you can file a claim now.
He has moved faster before
In June 2024, DeSantis signed Executive Order 24-115 the day after South Florida's flash floods, declaring "a major state of emergency" for five counties after 10 to 15 inches of rain. In October 2026, he declared an emergency for 25 counties before Hurricane Isaias reached the Panhandle.
This time, the order came late Monday afternoon, after local governments had already declared their own emergencies and run their own rescues all day.
The money
Florida's main flood-protection fund, the Resilient Florida grant program, has paid out more than $1.8 billion since 2021, according to the governor's office. But it is shrinking:
$209 million in FY2025-26.
$160 million this year, $10 million less than the Legislature approved because of a DeSantis veto (WUFT).
Earlier proposals sat near the legal minimum (Florida Politics).
WUFT found 347 construction grants went to coastal-county communities and 30 to inland counties.
At the same time, Washington is pushing disaster costs onto states. DHS began cutting FEMA's disaster workforce in January; one official told CNN, "The impact is states are on their own." A federal judge ruled in September that the 50% FEMA staffing-cut plan was unlawful.
Many flooded homeowners aren't insured. Palm Bay says about 2,000 structures and 5,000 lots were taken out of the federal flood zone in 2014, so their owners were never required to buy flood insurance. Standard homeowners policies don't cover flooding.
Their side
As of publication, neither the Governor's Office nor the Florida Division of Emergency Management had issued a public statement explaining the timing of the order or why Palm Beach County was left out. Damage assessments usually take days, and an order can be amended to add counties.
Get help now
Confirmed for this flood unless marked. Call before you go; sites change fast.
Trapped by water: call 911. Don't drive into flooded roads.
Palm Beach County
American Red Cross (Palm Beach & Treasure Coast): 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767), 24/7.
Riviera Beach Emergency Operations Center: 1-877-257-2374.
Riviera Beach drainage problems (Public Works): 561-845-4080. Limit sink, shower and toilet use; sewers are backing up into some homes.
Greenacres Community Center shelter (jet crash evacuees; showers on site).
Palm Beach Gardens closures and flooding reports: app.govoutreach.com/palmbeachgardensfl.
Brevard County
Brevard Emergency Management: (321) 637-6670
Palm Bay Citizen Information Hotline: (321) 726-5683 (standing number; the city opened hotlines Monday but did not publish numbers)
Brevard Fire Rescue non-emergency: (321) 633-2056
Sheriff non-emergency: North (321) 264-5100, Central (321) 633-7162, South (321) 952-6371
American Red Cross, Brevard: (321) 723-2586 (standing number)
Palm Bay water: conserve water. When service returns from the Port Malabar Blvd. main break, boil water for 1 minute or use bottled water.
Food: Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Food Finder at feedhopenow.org. No flood-specific mobile pantry announced yet.
No Brevard flood shelter confirmed as of Monday afternoon. (A video circulating about a Brevard flood shelter is from October 2025.)
Treasure Coast
Septic users with slow plumbing should conserve water and not have tanks pumped while groundwater is high (county health officials).
Statewide
2-1-1 for local help and special-needs transport
Florida Emergency Information Line: (800) 342-3557 (standing number; not confirmed activated)
Staying safe
Floodwater can carry sewage. Don't touch electrical equipment while standing in water.
Photograph damage before cleanup. File flood insurance claims now. Without insurance, keep receipts; FEMA and SBA aid depend on a state request.
Palm Bay homes in flood zones need a substantial-damage inspection before repair permits.
Water distribution sites: none announced as of Monday afternoon. FMNN will update.
Voting Tuesday
Brevard officials say polling places are expected to open. "No matter what, everybody will get an opportunity to vote tomorrow," Sheriff Ivey said. The elections office in Viera is open; Titusville, Melbourne and Palm Bay offices are closed. Flooding moved some precincts in Palm Beach and Indian River counties. Confirm your polling place before you go: votebrevard.gov, the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections site, or voteindianriver.gov. On Election Day you must vote at your assigned polling place.
Read our editorial: Florida Is at Sea Level. Its Leaders Still Weren't Ready for a Flood.
Sources
Photo: A flooded neighborhood street in Kissimmee, Fla., after Hurricane Ian, Oct. 2, 2022. File photo, not from this week's flooding. Robert Kaufmann/FEMA (public domain), via DVIDS.