JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Unusually high tides are flooding several streets in the San Marco and South Shores areas. Many people have had to take detours for the past couple of weeks to avoid the high waters.
Duval County Emergency Management Director Steve Woodard toured those areas Friday with a meteorologist from the National Weather Service to assess the issue.
Astronomical tides are pretty normal this time of year because of the moon but recent weather events have made the situation worse.
"We basically had a nor'easter into the river for two weeks," NWS meteorologist Al Sandrik said. "Then we had the entire Western Atlantic Ocean in motion with Joaquin."
READ: Department of Health Flood Advisory
Sandrik and Woodard took to the streets Friday assessing the tides and impacts of the river.
"If you think about how wide the river is behind us, it's about 2 miles wide," Sandrik said. "It's got to go through that narrow space in downtown to get all that water out of the river, and that's going to take about a week."
Now they're working with city departments to alleviate some of the traffic issues.
"We're working with JSO and Public Works," Woodard said. "We've pre-staged a lot of barricades at the locations that we know are prone to flooding in San Marco, particularly where we've seen flooding over the last several days."
JEA crews in South Shores are pumping the wastewater lift station before each high tide to prevent any wastewater from overflowing into the environment.
People who live in the areas said the flooding has become an inconvenience.
"It does cause a danger when people try to pass each other because they're trying to avoid the flood," resident Larry Washington said.
"It's something you get used to," Bridgette Rossi said. "The flooding, it's been like this for the last two weeks so I do have to divert and go out on the main street and then come back in, so it makes our runs and walks a little difficult."
If the weather cooperates, officials expect the tidal flooding to subside in the next week or so. City officials said they will be working to fund future resolutions and will schedule debris clean-up and roadway repairs.
Duval County Emergency Management? officials have some recommendations for those living and traveling in the areas:
- Avoid driving through flooded streets. Over the past few weeks, several vehicles have either stalled out or have been damaged due to the high water levels.
- Follow posted detours and barricades that may be out during the overnight and early morning hours.
- Do not walk through or allow your children to walk through the flooded areas. You don't know what contaminates may or may not be in the water from river overflow.