JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Heavy rainfall typically leaves parts of Ken Knight Drive in Northwest Jacksonville flooded, and Tropical Storm Elsa is expected to bring rain to the area.
Neighbor William Faison recently spoke with News4Jax reporter Jim Piggott about his expectations when it comes to Elsa.
“I expecting rain, plenty of rain, and I’m expecting this river to run over,” he said, referring to the Ribault River.
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The Ribault River runs parallel to parts of Ken Knight Drive. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, the river overflowed into the community, flooding out homes and leaving cars underwater. It was too much for the storm drains to handle.
Since then, the city built a retention pond inside Charles Reese Memorial Park. Several neighbors who didn’t want to go on camera said the retention pond has helped a little when it comes to thunderstorms, but they also said the pond will get a real test if Elsa drops significant rainfall for a long period of time.
Despite what may happen, the sentiment among people who News4Jax spoke with is that whatever happens with Elsa, they will deal with it like they dealt with Irma.