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Fla. National Guard Called To Help Evacuate 50 Homes

POSTED: Monday, August 25, 2008
UPDATED: 1:14 am EDT August 26, 2008

Six days after Tropical Storm Fay made the first of four landfalls in Florida, some northeast Florida residents were breathing a sigh of relief at how little the storm did to their homes, while others remained soaked by overflowing waterways.

Last weekend, the Florida National Guard was called to help evacuate more than 50 homes in the Callahan area.

Like many in the low-lying areas of Callahan, Travis Crane said he began to worry about his property as Tropical Storm Fay began to vacate north Florida last week.

"Friday morning I started seeing the puddles coming up," Crane said. "Water just kept coming up, and by Friday evening we had evacuated to some friends' house over off Jonas -- friends from church."

It wasn't long after that floodwaters crept into homes and into the Thomas Creek Baptist Church.

Livestock had to be moved, and National Guard helped evacuate residents from their homes.

While some residents in northeast Florida were relieved to have escaped significant damage brought by Fay, people in Callahan said the flooding was some of the worst they've seen.

"This is even worse then the 2004 hurricanes that just kept rolling through. A lot of debris came down during those storms and went right in the creek. A lot of trees came down and just clogged it like a beaver dam back there," Crane said.

"I've been here for about 17 years. We had it (water) close to coming in but it never did come in the building," said flood victim Kenny Bond.

Monday evening the floodwaters had begun to recede and the National Guard left.

Black Creek Waters Begin To Fall

Like those in Callahan, residents who live near Black Creek were hoping to dry out soon.

The waters of Black Creek crested at over 20 feet Sunday -- more than 4 feet above flood stage -- submerging some cars in floodwaters, which entered some homes. Deputies were called to a home where a family of five was stranded inside by rising water.

"Water was rising up toward the bottom of their house. It doesn't look like it was close to entering the house but they didn't have a way to get out. Their cars had been moved to higher ground. We sent one of our rescue boats in to remove the children," Clay County Sheriff's Office Lt. Mark Cowan said.

Two teenagers were rescued Saturday night when a canoe they were using to get through the neighborhood overturned.

Longtime resident Butch Goble said while he was not surprised by the flooding, he was frustrated by the all damage.

He said outside his home the water level rose about a foot and a half, but the damage on the inside he said the damage was more extensive.

"The walls have to be replaced and all the carpet and the wood floors and maybe some of the doors," Goble said.

After several days of torrential downpours Goble said he was happy to see Fay go away.

Clay County Sheriff's Rick Beseler said even though the storm is over, the storm's aftermath continues to be felt. He said the Main Street and Old Ferry boat ramps remain closed.

"We have street closures of Lazy Acre and Main Street, Scenic Drive and Forest. Those are Middleburg streets that run alongside Black Creek. The waters are receding, and we're moving the barricades back as the water recedes, but we anticipate they'll probably be closed for at least another day or two," Beseler said.

Upper St. Johns Also Overflows Its Banks

Minor flooding was occurring near Deland, in Volusia County, as the St. Johns River was rising, expected to crest nearly a foot above flood stage by Friday.

Further south, the St. Johns was forecast to crest just over a foot above flood stage by Friday, overtaking the sea wall around Lake Monroe.

Thousands Remain Without Power

While flooding was a major issue for many residents, others faced the lingering matter of being without power in Fay's aftermath.

The slow-moving storm that dropped between 11 and 15 inches of rain, had sustained winds of 45 mph spawned at least five tornados, and also knocked out power to nearly 90,000 properties.

On Monday evening, 2,133 people were still without electricity.

"I would say for people to call JEA. If you have not called yet today, it would be good to make a call. We are constantly restoring people. You can do that every morning. Our estimate is we have a goal to get everybody back in power by the end of the day tomorrow," JEA executive director Jim Dickerson said.

JEA said things could have been much worse, but that's no comfort to those still without power who said they are just trying to survive.

JEA said it wants to hear exactly where people without power are. People without electricity should call 904-665-6000.

Fay Gone; T.S. Gustav Forms

Haitians have been told to prepare for evacuations, with Tropical Storm Gustav on a path to hit the country's denuded southern coast as a full hurricane Tuesday morning.

Storm warnings have been upgraded to hurricane warnings across much of Haiti's coast.

Floods and landslides are possible across Haiti's southern peninsula, and the forecasts suggest that the eye could pass very closely to the capital of Port au Prince, home to nearly 3 million people.

The National Hurricane Center said reports from an Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate the storm's top sustained winds are already nearly 60 mph as Gustav moves northwest.

At 5 p.m. Eastern, the storm was centered about 180 miles southeast of Port au Prince. After striking Haiti, Gustav is forecast to move on to Cuba, the Bahamas and Florida.

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