Bush declares 'major disaster' in Florida

(CNN) -- Flooding caused by the former Tropical Storm Fay prompted evacuations in parts of northern Florida on Sunday as what was left of the storm stalled over southern Mississippi.

Also Sunday, President Bush declared a "major disaster" in Florida, which Fay had pounded for days. The move made the counties of Brevard, Monroe, Okeechobee, and St. Lucie eligible for federal funds.

Severe flooding in the Florida Panhandle counties of Jefferson and Wakulla led local officials to order evacuations there Sunday, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said.

Major flooding caused by Fay also was a concern in northeastern Florida's Baker and Nassau counties, the division said. On Sunday afternoon, the St. Mary's River at Macclenny -- about 25 miles west of Jacksonville -- was 9 feet above flood stage, according to the National Weather Service.

In and near Florida's capital, Tallahassee, emergency personnel ferried people from flooded neighborhoods by boat on Sunday, according to The Associated Press. Watch trapped residents get rescued »

"The water is very deep. It's already at everybody's door," Debra Galloway, who lives east of Tallahassee, told the AP. She still was at home Sunday evening, but said she'd leave if the rain continued, according to the AP.

Fay, the tropical storm that wouldn't go away, weakened to a tropical depression on Saturday, but forecasters warned it could still drop up to a foot of rain along its path over northwest Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Fay's center was nearly stationary, about 75 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi, at about 4 p.m. according to the National Weather Service's Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. The storm had maximum sustained winds near 25 mph.

Forecasters warned that the storm could spawn tornadoes Sunday evening in the Florida Panhandle, western Georgia, and Alabama.

Fay, which sprang to life more than eight days ago over the Dominican Republic, caused flooding and at least 10 deaths in Haiti before sweeping over Cuba, the Florida Keys and onto the Florida peninsula.

The storm spent several days circling the central and upper coast of Florida with heavy rain and severe flooding before moving west into Mississippi. iReport.com: Send your videos, photos from the storm

Fay is blamed for 11 Florida deaths.

Another storm-related death was reported in Cairo, Georgia, about 35 miles north of Tallahassee, when a teenager playing near a drainage area was swept away in rising waters, the National Weather Service reported.

The storm, which is expected to gradually weaken over the next couple of days, could be stalled into Monday morning before moving northeast into central Mississippi or west-central Alabama by Tuesday morning, the weather service said.

Mobile County, Alabama, opened five shelters and called in swift-water rescue teams in anticipation of flooding, said Steve Huffman, spokesman for the county's emergency management agency.

"The storm is actually weakening. That's not to say we're not going to have rain," Huffman said. "We're still expecting some flooding because of this. We've got everything on standby -- hopefully it won't come to that."

CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

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