Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for 26 counties ▼ on the Florida Panhandle and in north Florida that have been hard-hit by torrential rain.

Scott issued the proclamation early Wednesday and mobilized the Florida National Guard to help. The governor said officials have received about 300 requests for evacuations from flooded areas in Pensacola.

Some 201 rescues have been completed, according to Scott, and the Florida National Guard is sending 24 high-water vehicles to the area to assist with others.

State officials are urging residents to use extreme caution during, and after, severe weather and flooding.

Heavy rains started falling over the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday, drenching parts of Pensacola with between 15 and 20 inches of rain.

Scott says about 32,000 Panhandle residents were initially without power, but that number was down to 28,000 by mid-morning.

The Florida Highway Patrol says one person, a 67-year-old woman, died in Pensacola late Tuesday. Troopers said Betty Faye Word drove her Mercedes Benz into high water Tuesday night and it submerged. She did not escape.

Officials in Escambia County say many were stranded in their cars and people climbed to the attics of their homes waiting to be rescued.

Parts of Interstate 10 north of Pensacola were closed earlier Wednesday, but reopened shortly before 10 a.m.

Latest weather wallop from severe storms

At least 36 deaths have been reported from the large, stubborn storm system making its way through the South after cutting a destructive path through parts of the central U.S. Mississippi and Arkansas saw the most fatalities, as well as the most destruction from violent tornadoes.

The panhandle was spared the deadly tornadoes that ravaged other parts of the South and the Midwest, but storms Tuesday into Wednesday brought widespread flooding and power outages to the area.

Fire rescue crews weren't able to respond for some calls for help early Wednesday because of road flooding in and around Pensacola, Escambia County spokesman Bill Pearson said.

"It's gotten to the point where we can't send EMS and fire rescue crews out on some 911 calls because they can't get there," Pearson said. "We've had people whose homes are flooding and they've had to climb up to the attic."

Some people left their flooded cars and walked to find help on their own. "We have people at the police department," Officer Justin Cooper of the Pensacola Police Department said. "They walked up here and are hanging out until things get better."

As much as 15 to 20 inches had fallen in Pensacola in a 24-hour period, National Weather Service meteorologist Phil Grigsby in New Orleans said Wednesday morning, with a few more inches expected. Grigsby said aerial rescues were planned, and the county moved boats and jet skis from the beaches to the streets to help. A portion of Interstate 10 was closed.

"We've seen pictures that people are posting with water halfway up their doors, front doors," Grigsby said. "It's going to be a big cleanup, looks like."

The rain and blooding was the latest wallop of a storm system that still packed considerable punch days after the violent outbreak began in Arkansas and Oklahoma. At least 36 people have been killed in that storms that started Sunday and spread from Oklahoma to North Carolina.

Four possible tornadoes in North Carolina

At least four possible tornadoes were reported late Tuesday in North Carolina, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. The storms hit especially hard in places such as Arkansas' northern Little Rock suburbs and the Mississippi cities of Louisville and Tupelo. Arkansas, with 15 deaths after a tornado blasted through Sunday, and Mississippi with 12 deaths from Monday's storms, accounted for the brunt of the death toll.

"We will overcome this," Louisville Mayor Will Hill said against a backdrop of hundreds of damaged buildings, including two hilltop churches pounded to rubble. "We're going to work together."

Authorities in Louisville searched until dark Tuesday for an 8-year-old boy missing since Monday's large tornado that killed his parents and destroyed the home where they lived. Though searchers didn't rule out finding the boy alive, officials were describing the process as one of "recovery."

Besides the dead in Mississippi and Arkansas, at least three died in Alabama, two in Iowa and one in Oklahoma.

After two days of destruction opened Sunday in the Midwest and continued Monday into the South, some didn't take any chances late Tuesday with yet more tornado watches.

Simon Turner and her 7-year-old son, Christopher, scrambled to a shelter in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday afternoon after hearing a tornado watch had been issued around that city.

Frightened by memories of a killer tornado that partly demolished Tuscaloosa three years ago, the Turners had opted for refuge in a school with a reinforced hallway. "We'll be here till they say it's OK to leave," Turner said before the all-clear came.

Sunday was the anniversary of an outbreak of more than 60 tornadoes that killed more than 250 people across Alabama on April 27, 2011.

University of Alabama swimmer dies

The dead Monday included University of Alabama swimmer John Servati, who authorities say took shelter in the basement of a home when a retaining wall collapsed. Servati was a business major on the dean's list.

Some survived or died amid split-second decisions.

William Quinn, 25, and others dove under the gap beneath a house in Mars Hill, Miss., seconds before a tornado heavily damaged the home and sheared off the roofs of nearby poultry houses. He called his decision "a spur of the moment thing."

But in the southern Tennessee community of Fayetteville, a married couple was killed Monday in a tornado after returning to their mobile home after mistakenly believing the danger had passed, a neighbor said. Authorities identified the victims as John Prince, 60, and his wife Karen, 44.

"We pulled up, and were in shocked seeing our own home. But then we saw Karen's father, and he said `John and Karen are gone - They didn't make it,'" recalled neighbor Tiffani Danner. She had left and came back to find her own home destroyed as well.

Darrell Haney, in a home nearby, thought that community was out of the woods when TV switched from tornado warnings back to regular programming - then suddenly cut back to a possible tornado.

Haney quickly plucked up two grandchildren and huddled in a bathroom with his wife, daughter and son-in-law. Almost immediately, he said, a tree crashed into a front room where one of the children had been sleeping. The roof was lifted off of the master bedroom.

"The house is being torn apart around you, and we're just crying out, `God protect us,'" Haney said. "Because at that point you're totally hopeless and helpless."

Elsewhere, Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe visited several homes Tuesday that were damaged by a deadly twister, stopping at one location where three members of a family were killed. Three of Arkansas' 15 deaths were a father and two daughters and Beebe spoke to survivors, including two of the man's other daughters.

"It was kind of heartbreaking those two little girls that I talked to that lost two of their siblings and their dad," Beebe said afterward. "That's utter destruction up there ... and these people need to know that folks care about them."

The office of the governor has released the following statement, and advice to residents:

“We urge residents and visitors in affected areas to take precautions to protect themselves and their families from potential health risks presented by floodwaters,” said Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Bryan W. Koon. “As the SERT continues to respond to the impacts of this rain event, safety is our first and foremost concern, and Florida’s residents and visitors should continue to heed instructions from local emergency management officials.”

Flood Safety and Post Flood Clean-up

  • Turn Around, Don’t Drown.  Do not drive through or try to cross flooded roadways.
  • Look before you step, as the ground and floors may be covered with debris. Floors and stairs that have been covered with mud can be very slippery.
  • Avoid contact with downed power lines and electrical wires.
  • Do not open manhole covers.
  • Clean up debris to avoid injury and contamination.
  • Operate chainsaws only in safe conditions (not in water soaked areas) if experienced in proper use.
  • Lift heavy debris by bending knees and using legs to help lift.
  • Wear shoes that cover the entire foot to avoid injury to the feet from glass, nails or other sharp objects.
  • Be alert to wildlife (snakes, alligators, etc.) that may have been displaced as a result of flooding.
  • Heed posted signage near affected area waterways.
  • Follow beach warning flags and do not swim if the beach is closed.

Sanitation and Hygiene: Preventing Waterborne Illness

  • Always wash your hands with soap and water that has been boiled or disinfected before eating, after toilet use, after participating in cleanup activities and after handling articles contaminated by floodwater or sewage.
  • Flood water may contain fecal matter from sewage systems, agricultural and industrial waste and septic tanks. If you have open cuts or sores exposed to the floodwater, keep them as clean as possible by washing them with soap and disinfected or boiled water.
  • Apply antibiotic ointment to reduce the risk of infection. If a wound or sore develops redness, swelling or drainage, seek medical help.
  • Do not play in floodwater as it may be contaminated.
  • Do not allow children to play with toys that have been in floodwater until the toys have been disinfected. Use ¼ cup of bleach in one gallon of water to disinfect toys and other items.

Food Safety: Preventing Food-borne Diseases

  • Do not eat any food that may have come into contact with contaminated water from floods or tidal surges.
  • Commercially prepared cans of food should not be eaten if there is a bulging or opening on the can or the screw caps, soda pop bottle tops or twist-caps.
  • Undamaged, commercially canned foods can be saved if you remove the labels and then disinfect the cans in a bleach solution. Use ¼ cup of bleach in one gallon of water; re-label the cans including expiration date and type of food. Assume that home-canned food is unsafe.
  • Infants should be fed only pre-mixed canned baby formula. Do not use powdered formulas prepared with treated water. Use boiled water when preparing formula.
  • Frozen and refrigerated foods can be unsafe after a flood. When the power is out, refrigerators will keep foods cool for only about four hours. Thawed and refrigerated foods should be thrown out after four hours.

For additional information about severe weather in Florida, and to "get a plan", visit www.FloridaDisaster.org

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.