NAACP calls Gap Creek flooding an environmental justice crisis as local leaders emand Action in Fort Walton Beach Collin Bestor January 27, 2026 8:00 am Fort Walton Beach FORT WALTON BEACH — It pools in yards. It creeps under homes. It swallows low spots in the street until cars slow to a crawl and some residents decide it is safer to stay put than risk driving through water they cannot judge. For many families, it has been that way for decades, and, in the view of the Okaloosa County Branch of the NAACP, that is far too long. Last week, the NAACP renewed its call for officials to take decisive action on Gap Creek, a drainage corridor that winds through Fort Walton Beach and unincorporated Okaloosa County before emptying into Cinco Bayou. The organization says the creek and the flooding around it have become a long-running example of environmental injustice in a predominantly Black community that has struggled to get the same level of attention and investment as other parts of the county, even as local officials have acknowledged the problem and moved forward with a long-awaited planning study. “Environmental justice is a civil rights issue,” said Sabu L. Williams, president of the Okaloosa County NAACP, in a Jan. 20 press release. “The families of Sylvania Heights have been forced to live with preventable flooding and infrastructure neglect for far too long. This is a systemic failure, and it demands immediate corrective action.” But for Fort Walton Beach Councilwoman Debi...
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