ORLANDO, Fla. -- Flood victims of Tropical Storm Fay were warned about rivers of raw sewage possibly flowing through some Florida neighborhoods.

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IMAGES: Catfish In Yards, Other Viewer Images
IMAGES: Canoes - Airboats Used To Flee Floods

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The state's surgeon general, Ana Viamonte Ros, notified Floridians Thursday about fecal matter danger created by the stalled weather system.

"We just wanted to reiterate again the importance of making sure children do not play in flooded areas," Viamonte Ros said. "We have had reports of raw sewage in some of these flooded plains. Please make sure children (stay out) because there could be downed powered lines (and) there is sewage."

Septic tanks flowed over in a subdivision in Merritt Island and leaked into streets near the Colony Park subdivision.

Several adults and parents were videotaped swimming in the streets during a Local 6 report.

It's like swimming in a toilet and it's very dangerous, Local 6's Jessica D'Onofrio reported.

Officials warned that within the sewage water is harmful bacteria and viruses that pose threats.

State officials warned about West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illness in connection with Fay floodwaters.

The Department of Health recommends you avoid the outdoors during dusk and dawn, wear clothing that covers skin and to use Deet as a repellant.

"Remember as well there are potentially dangerous wild animals that will seek higher ground so beware of those as well," Ros said.

"Most deaths that occur in storms are because of flooding," Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp said Thursday.

The reference is to water moccasins, other snakes and alligators, Local 6's Steven Cooper reported.

The Department of Health said residents should not wade through standing water. If residents must wade through floodwater, they are urged to bath and put on clean clothes afterward.

Gov. Crist Tours Flooded Cities

Initial damage estimates for a one of the most flooded cities in Central Florida will top $10 million and leave hundreds of homes with water damage.

Several hundred homes in Melbourne have three to four feet of standing water inside of them Thursday after days of pounding rain from Tropical Storm Fay, Local 6's News partner Florida Today reported.

The city of Melbourne's emergency manager said the $10 to $12 million damage estimate does not include the Lamplighter Village community -- which is submerged under chest-high water.

Gov. Charlie Crist toured Lamplighter Village -- a community of 600 homes near Interstate 95 -- in a swamp buggy.

"I couldn't believe all of the water," Crist said.

Crist said the area is the worse hit -- by far, Local 6's Adam Longo reported.

"We've lived through several hurricanes and (I have seen) nothing like this," flood victim Timothy Tucker said.

There is still about four or five feet of standing water in and around Lamplighter homes.

"I saw water in my house and I'm like, 'Oh my God,'" Lamplighter Village resident Wayne Wyckoff said. "Cars were stuck and wreckers were pulling them out and I knew that I was going to lose everything. Everything is flooded. I lost everything."

The National Guard has been the only personnel allowed into the subdivision to help the remaining people still inside their homes.

There are five shelters in the county with about 106 people inside. However, the number was expected to grow Thursday night.

Also, the Department of Natural Resources said a preliminary estimate of damage to the Brevard County beaches is about $2.6 million.

Tourist Drowns

A woman on vacation with her husband in Daytona Beach died after being pulled from the ocean, which is producing rough waves and rip currents because of Tropical Storm Fay, Beach Patrol officials said.

"This is a sad thing for us," Scott Petersohn said. "This is what we've been trying to avoid this whole Fay event."

The 35-year-old woman from New York, whose name has not been released, was pulled to shore Thursday afternoon by bystanders and taken to Halifax Hospital, where she later died, Petersohn said.

According to Beach Patrol officials, the couple, who was staying at a Daytona Beach hotel, went for a swim in the ocean when a large wave crashed down on them. The woman's husband was able to make it back to shore, but the woman vanished after apparently being knocked unconscious. She was then pulled to shore.

No lifeguards were on duty, but Beach Patrol officials have been warning beachgoers to stay out of the water because of the dangers presented by Tropical Storm Fay.

"It's a sad thing to have something like that happen," Petersohn said.

The death marks the first Fay-related fatality in Central Florida.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.