OKEECHOBEE – Heavy rainfall flooded Okeechobee County on Nov. 1, in what local officials are calling a “one-in-200-year storm.”

Complicating the problem: The county had already been hit by four “one-in-100-year” storms in the past two months, leaving the ground saturated and the water table high.

Okeechobee Mayor Dowling Watford said the city received about 10 inches of rain in just 6 hours on Nov. 1, overwhelming the drainage system.

“We had a very catastrophic event yesterday with a flood that is a one-in-200-year flood event,” Watford explained during a press conference at the Okeechobee County Emergency Operations Center on Nov. 2. “It was very devastating to our community and to our roadways. I want to assure our citizens that the city and county government and our partners with the South Florida Water Management District, the Sheriff’s Office and the Public Safety Department have worked very hard for the last 24 hours straight to minimize the flood damage.

“We had a lot of flooding that got into a lot of homes and got into a lot of businesses,” said Watford.

“I wish we could have done something to prevent it, but I want to assure you that the city and the county and our partners are doing everything we can to minimize the flooding.

“The problem is we just had too much rain in a short amount of time,” said Watford.

“I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve never seen flooding like we had, not even in hurricanes,” said Watford.

“The recovery is going to be long and hard,” he said.

He said the SFWMD turned on Taylor Creek pumps. They also opened the locks at Taylor Creek, which really helped relieve the flooding in the Taylor Creek area.

Watford cautioned residents that more rain is predicted, and urged them to be careful on the roads.

Public Safety Director/Fire Chief Justin Hazellief said all drainage ditches are flowing, but it will take time for the flooding to recede.

“We are doing the best we can with the facilities we have, and we do have plans for future improvements as well,” said Hazellief.

He said the National Weather Service called this a one-in-200-year event. “Unfortunately, in the past two months, we’ve had four, one-in-100-year events.

“Mother Nature has a mind of her own, and when she sends that amount of water in that short a time, there is no infrastructure anywhere that would be able to handle that amount of water,” he added.

Hazellief said damage assessment teams are going door-to-door in the hardest-hit areas to determine how many homes and businesses were damaged.

He said they saw some alligators in the flooded areas. “In Florida, if there’s water, there’s a gator in it,” he added.

Sheriff Noel Stephen said the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office water rescue teams were out during the storm, helping residents in low-lying areas. He said they concentrated on areas they knew would be impacted.

He asked people to be patient. “If you’re running 65 mph in a 45 mph zone, and you hit a high water area, you are going to hydroplane; you’re going to wind up in a ditch. You end up wrapped around a tree. We’re just asking people to slow down, take a breath, and be patient,” said the sheriff.

City Police Chief Donald Hagan said there have been problems with people “wanting to rubberneck” in flooded areas.

 “If you don’t live there, stay out of the neighborhood,” he cautioned. He said the wake from a four-wheel drive truck driving down a flooded street can push more water into homes.

 Superintendent of Schools Dylan Tedders said all Okeechobee schools are ready to reopen. They had no damage to the school buildings. Osceola Middle School has some flooding in the parking lot and the bus circle.

A video of the press conference is available on Lake Okeechobee News Facebook page.