Panhandle residents and business owners are cleaning up the mess after nearly two feet of rain drenched Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in the span of about 24 hours.

At least two people have died in Pensacola as a result of a slow-moving storm that dumped several inches of rain and brought extensive flooding to the Florida Panhandle.

The flooding is the latest wallop from a violent storm system that began in Arkansas and Oklahoma and worked its way south, killing 37 people along the way.

According to our Weather Experts, parts of the Panhandle have received twice as much rain in a single day as the Tampa area has seen all year.

The storm washed out roads, damaged buildings and killed at least two people, who drowned after getting stuck in their cars.

Gov. Rick Scott declared a State of Emergency in 26 counties, a move that will help free up relief funds for people who have been affected by severe flooding.

Despite the government assistance, only a slow trickle of supplies like food and water made it into the area, as part of I-10 was flooded out.

In Pensacola, much of the city's Scenic Highway was washed away by flood waters. Some people say it's the worst storm - including hurricanes - they have seen in two decades.

"In an hour, everything just started gushing in," Pensacola resident Indra Paradis said. "It was the strangest thing. It was weird. All the water just started coming in the house. We couldn't do anything."

Gov. Scott said crews have made about 300 water rescues in the Panhandle since early Wednesday. Some of those were people who climbed into their attics as flood waters rose quickly.  Some of those neighborhoods were hit with five feet of flood water.

Rivers in the Panhandle are still above the flood stage, but those water levels are expected to go down throughout the day.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this news report.