Flash Flood, Okaloosa
- When
- September 28, 3:00 AM CST to September 29, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Okaloosa County, Countywide
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 30.665, -86.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Torrential rainfall from slow moving Hurricane Georges caused widespread flooding throughout the county. Rainfall estimates were between fifteen and twenty-five inches throughout the county. Many roads throughout the county were closed due to flooding. I-10 was closed both east and west of Crestview for several hours because of water across the highway. Schools were closed for two to three days because of washed out secondary roads. Many secondary roads had to be closed for days because of lack of people to repair them. The heavy rainfall and resulting runoff caused record river flooding throughout the county. The Yellow River at Milligan crested at 24.09 feet on October 1. This was about four feet above the record of 20.32 feet in March of this year. The Shoal River at Crestview crested at 21.4 feet on September 30. This was about six feet above the record of 15.58 feet in August of 1975. Many homes along these two rivers were either destroyed or suffered major damage. Areas and communities hardest hit by river flooding were the Yellow River Valley, south and east of Crestview, Milligan and vicinity, Wilkerson Bluff, and Dorcas .