Fay Drowns Florida

Tropical storm Fay continued to dump rain over Florida and is expected to do so for the rest of the week before moving out along the Gulf Coast.

An insurance association executive said it is still too soon to tell what the insurance damage may be from the storm that has dumped as much as 30 inches of rain on isolated parts of the state according to the National Weather Service.

By mid-afternoon Fay was reported to be stalled just north of Cape Canaveral, Fla., the National Hurricane Center reported, with a tropical storm watch extending from Fort Pierce, Fla., north to Altamaha Sound, Ga.

The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, was expected to begin moving again into the Atlantic, then move northwest over the Florida Panhandle. The Hurricane Center said an unofficial report puts total rainfall so far just northwest of Melbourne, Fla., at 22 inches.

William Stander, assistant vice president and regional manager for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, said in an e-mail, “It is too soon to determine the full scope of insurance losses at this point. Floridians are just now starting to file claims.”

He added, “Insurers stand ready to assist Floridians recover from flash floods, high winds, tornado activity and power outages that have been reported across the state.”

Steve E. Smith, president of Property Solutions Carvill ReAdvisory, said Fay is expected to spend the 12-24 hours over the Atlantic where it is expected to intensify but not reach hurricane status.

According to Progress Energy’s Web site, 437 customers are without power. Florida Power and Light Company said about 93,000 customers were without power, but the figure was expected to fluctuate and his crews are working to restore power as quickly as possible.

In a statement, the company said that Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were “essentially restored.” Other areas of the state were still being worked on.

Reports say the storm has spawned nine tornadoes, injuring two and damaging more than 50 homes.