Fay appeared to become better organized as it moved northward over the Florida peninsula, dumping more than 2 feet of rain in some areas.
Tropical Storm Fay killed at least 50 people as it formed over Haiti, with many of the victims being drowned in a bus that was knocked into a raging river by high winds.
The storm never attained hurricane force, but was strong enough to rip roofs off homes in South Florida and flood hundreds of homes as it stalled over the state near the Kennedy Space Center for three days.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami predicted the storm could dump 30 inches of rain in some areas of Florida.
At least 22 inches had already fallen by Thursday morning near Melbourne, just south of the Kennedy Space Center on the state's Atlantic coast.
Calling the flooding "catastrophic," Gov. Charlie Crist requested an emergency disaster declaration from the federal government to open up funds from FEMA to help with the disaster cleanup and response.
Tropical Storm Fay Track
Radar Data: NOAA
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