Central Florida floods left West Palm Beach's RiverWalk community trapped for days after a one-in-1,000-year rain event, with residents saying streets were nearly impassable and normal routines were disrupted. Some children could not get to school while floodwater lingered through the neighborhood.
Don Gentile described the scene as "It's like an apocalyptic-type event," and Bobbi Jo Morgan said, "This is nothing that we've seen before," as residents reported fish, venomous snakes and even alligators outside their homes. Gentile also said, "Hopefully this will dissipate in the roadways," but added, "But every street in this community has some kind of flooding on it."
RiverWalk streets under water
Michael Hoffman entered RiverWalk and found flooded streets, including at least one alligator swimming near a home. He also said residents were unable to go about their normal routines while the water stayed in place.
Residents told Hoffman that every street in the community had experienced some level of flooding. That left the neighborhood in a condition they described as widespread, not isolated to one block or one home.
Don Gentile and Michael Hoffman
Don Gentile and Michael Hoffman walked into Gentile's backyard and came face to face with an alligator in the water. James Whited described the animal by saying, "That thing had to be — his head was bigger than a Volkswagen," after seeing it near the flooded homes.
Several residents contacted WPTV asking for help as the water lingered throughout the neighborhood. The report did not give a timeline for when the roadways would clear, but the flooding had already stayed long enough to keep parts of RiverWalk cut off from school travel and daily movement.
West Palm Beach RiverWalk
The disruption widened beyond inconvenience when residents said wildlife had moved into the flooded streets. Fish and venomous snakes were among the hazards they said they saw outside their homes, turning the standing water into a barrier and a threat.
For residents of West Palm Beach RiverWalk, the immediate question is no longer how unusual the flooding was. It is how long they will still be stuck waiting for the roadways to open again.
