Okeechobee County remains at a Level 1 emergency level after 13 inches of rain dumped in the county, flooding roads and low-lying areas.

The county has been added to the governor’s emergency order for this week’s flooding event, strengthening Okeechobee County's ability to seek state assistance and support on-going response and recovery.

So far, some 62 million gallons of water have been pumped off roadways and low-lying areas.

At the board of county commissioners Thursday, county administrator Jessica Bezares said mobile home communities were hit particularly hard. So far the county estimates the residential damages to be about $2.1 million.

That figure does not include an additional 850 structures still waiting on assessment nore does it include another 400 mobile homes that have known flooding but cannot be inspected yet due to limited access caused by the high water.

The admionistrator said state-supported heavy equipment operators and heavy-equipment transport vehicle are expected to arrive any day.

A preliminary assessment of the county infrastructure that has been inspected as of Thursday morning estimates there to be around $4.2 million in damages.

"And we still have a lot of road to cover," Bezares said.

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