Rains slow but flooding persists in Riviera, Gardens, West Palm

• Severe flooding in Riviera Beach resulted from more than 20 inches of rain in three days.
• The flooding trapped residents in their homes and caused a wastewater pipe to rupture, leading to temporary water use restrictions.
• While floodwaters are receding in some areas, the Lone Pine Estates community remains significantly flooded with residents still trapped.

People can do laundry and flush their toilets again in Riviera Beach as residents wade through severe flooding, but one neighborhood in the city remains in trouble.

Riviera Beach received more than 20 inches of rain from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. It left waist-deep standing water behind, trapping residents in their homes and leaving cars floating around neighborhoods, Mayor Douglas Lawson said.

The flooding also led to a rupture in a force main, a pipe that carries wastewater. That backed up wastewater systems citywide and led officials to ask residents not to flush their toilets or do laundry as a way to restrict water use. Residents were able to use water normally again on Nov. 4, a city spokesperson said.

The heavy rain and storms started on Halloween night and at times seemed relentless. The rains fell, flooded roadways, and then more showers and storms followed, worsening the flooding.

All of the rain was from a mid- to upper-level system, deep moisture in the atmosphere coming up from the Caribbean and thunderstorms trapped along the coast as wind blew from the east in lower parts of the atmosphere and from the west in the upper parts of the atmosphere.

These created a conveyer belt of thunderstorms, a forecaster at the National Weather Service said.

Floods are starting to recede in some Riviera Beach areas

It hasn’t rained in Riviera Beach since Nov. 2, a city spokesperson said.

As a result, floodwaters are starting to recede as city workers pump out excessive water, but the flooding is still significant and there still may be sewage issues in Lone Pine Estates, along Military Trail near the city's southern border.

People are still trapped in their homes there, a city spokesperson said. City officials are working on delivering water and meals to people who need it.

Crews have already rescued more than 50 of Lone Pine's residents, according to a city statement. The floodwater became so high at one point that they limited how the city’s emergency response teams could respond to problems, except in cases of medical emergencies or life-threatening situations.

The floods partially swallowed up a school bus as residents navigated the area in canoes on Nov. 3. The city’s emergency teams are now able to access all neighborhoods as of Nov. 4, a city spokesperson said.

High floodwaters assault neighborhoods across Palm Beach County

Nearby neighborhoods are also grappling with high floodwaters.

At Riverwalk, a community at Okeechobee Boulevard and Jog Road in suburban West Palm Beach, people are also stranded, according to a resident there. The lakes have overflowed by about 6 feet, the reservoirs have hit their capacities and a walkway to a polling place there was inaccessible on Election Day, he said.

Palm Beach Gardens reported that it and Riviera Beach together averaged between 15 to 23 inches of rain over three days, according to a Palm Beach Gardens rainfall update.

The PGA National neighborhood in Palm Beach Gardens has significant flooding. The Hunt Club neighborhood and parts of Steeple Chase, Horseshoe Acres and PGA National were accessible via brush trucks and PW loaders, and Montecito and Rustic Lakes were accessible for EMS vehicles only, the city said.

Palm Beach Gardens closed its parks on Nov. 3 due to flooding, but most of them have reopened, according to a city statement. The city's golf courses will remain closed through Nov. 8, it said.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue firefighters responded to more than 70 emergency calls from the Century Village area along Okeechobee Boulevard and Haverhill Road near West Palm Beach, the agency said in a news release.

Nearly 100 area residents were trapped in stranded vehicles lodged in rising floodwaters. Firefighters found floating cars with people stuck inside and saw waters as deep as 4 feet in some spots, the release said.

Fire-rescue personnel used drones and thermal imagery cameras to find victims around Century Village, Cypress Lakes, the Tennis Club and other neighborhoods. Firefighters waded through the water and used high water vehicles and brush trucks to rescue stranded people, who were all uninjured, the release said.

The county's Urban Search and Rescue Swiftwater Response Team went to Riviera Beach neighborhoods for nearly 24 hours starting on the night of Nov. 2 to rescue more people marooned in flooded areas.

They used emergency rafts and boats to go to each door to check on residents. The floods made many roads impassable for cars. The team evacuated 71 people, nine pets and made two medical rescues in the Riviera Beach area from the night of Nov. 2 to Nov. 3, according to the release.

“Riding with our first responders, actually seeing them wade through waist-deep water to try to save some of our residents that are trapped on a flash-flood incident, was something that I’d never thought I’d experience,” said Riviera Beach Mayor Douglas Lawson during a news conference on Nov. 3.

“Stay safe, stay hunkered down until this water subsides and then we will start working on rehabbing our community.”

Maya Washburn is a Trending News Reporter for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.