JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At least six cars were stranded on Wednesday morning and a trash can was seen floating down a road after heavy downpours hit the San Marco area.
The area got between 2 and 4 inches of rain over 12 hours.
Nearby, there was also reported flooding on Philips Highway near Bowden Road, and one car was stuck.
The water on the roads caused a traffic nightmare in the area as some roads were impassable.
Betty Brown had to get away from her flooded car in water that reached her thighs in the medical district.
“I come off the street right here, and come down, and it looked like it was about that much water in the road. And just as we come up, the water just gushed at us, and it just pushed the car back, and we were rocking back and forth like this,” she told News4JAX. “And then the car just stopped moving. And then all of a sudden it stopped moving backward, and it was steady going back, and then it stopped right there in the middle of the road. We had to climb, actually, had to climb out of the car, because when we opened the door, the water started coming in.”
The car wouldn’t turn over and her grandson eventually had to push it out of the roadway.
Nettie Sams said her car was in the shop because of flooding.
“It may need a new engine. It just happened this morning. I saw cars stuck on the side of the roads, underwater, and in grassy areas trying to get above the water levels and they were just stuck,” Sams said.
About half a dozen other cars were impacted in the area near MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Around the corner, standing water remained on San Marco Boulevard for hours as JSO kept watch and crews worked to pump the water out on LaSalle Street.
A flash flood warning was issued for San Marco, Riverside and downtown Jacksonville during the morning hours.
Tracy Elliot and her daughter, Willamina, were looking for something to eat later in the afternoon and ran into some issues with businesses closing.
“We needed some Crumbl Cookies and some Poke Bowl. That’s what made us come out here. We dared to walk through, and we got locked out at the last second. Businesses are shutting down because of the flash flood,” Elliot said.
Elliot and her daughter’s trek through the floodwater did come with some concerns.
“We thought we were going to encounter a water moccasin and we were alarmed at getting water up our pants,” Elliot said.
“I’m scared of snakes and spiders. I was terrified,” Willamina said.