JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A heavy downpour of rain Thursday — along with the possible overflow of a nearby creek and clogged drains — is likely the cause of flooding that totaled cars at UF Health in Springfield.
News4JAX learned the rising water also flooded part of the Pavilion offices at the hospital.
A UF Health spokesman said there was no damage and offices were opened on Friday while cleanup continued.
Videos and photos showed cars underwater in the hospital’s parking lot. Tow trucks were seen removing cars that were damaged Friday morning.
#Flooding: Car being towed from UF Health Pavilion Parking Lot near 8th street this morning after severe flooding left them in standing water yesterday. There are are at least four other cars still stranded in the parking lot right now needing to be towed. @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/GYvrF8bHnH
— Aaron Farrar (@aaronfarrarNews) August 19, 2022
One man, whose car was being towed for repairs, told News4JAX he hopes it will be salvageable.
“Nobody expects your car to be flooded with that amount of water,” he said.
Attention was being paid to the storm drains in the parking lot on Friday. The heavy rains in a short time was the obvious culprit, but some speculate it also might be an overflow of the nearby Hogans Creek.
News4jax spoke with City Councilman Reggie Gaffney about the hospital in his district.
“We know that Hogans Creek needs to be cleaned,” Gaffney said. “We are in the process of doing that. I just want to make sure that the drainage has a flow here. I’m not sure the last time the city came out and worked on the drains in this area.”
A spokesperson at UF Health said when there’s a tropical storm or hurricane coming — they close off the parking lot at the Pavilion because they know it floods.
Unfortunately, Thursday’s heavy rains were a surprise. UF employees said an alert was sent out about the flooded parking lot, but by the time they received the message, it was too late to rescue their cars.
Flooding was not only a surprise at the hospital, but it hit many parts of the city.
For example, News4jax caught up with Public Works crews at 25th and Perry Street on the Northside. Heavy flooding occurred there as well.
Crews were spotted cleaning out drains in hopes this does not happen again in the future.