Even though Lucia Fernandez’s home was flooded for hours on Friday afternoon, it’s not the weather she’s blaming for the three inches of water that flooded her house.
It’s all the cars that drove along her flooded street, which she believes sent waves of water onto her property.
“I was just really getting irritated and frustrated,” said Fernandez, “I was with my umbrella, had my hand out and said, ‘stop! Could you please stop!’”
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Fernandez tells Action News Jax she saw cars quickly going through her street at times throughout the day while her street in Davis Shores was flooded, which is part of a nor’easter the First Alert Weather Team has been tracking for days.
She said she hasn’t seen so much flooding on her street ever from a storm that wasn’t a hurricane. Hurricanes Ian and Nicole brought multiple feet of flooding into her house, which she said she’s now having to relive because of floodwater from the wet weather.
“I have to do it all over again tomorrow, and it’s just frustrating,” Fernandez said.
Action News Jax tracked multiple other flooded streets throughout St. Augustine on Friday, as well as complaints about who was driving them. One viewer sent us a picture of an Old Town Trolley Tour driving down a flooded street by the city hall.
Her name is Hayley Morland. She tells us that trolleys driving in the rain is normal, even in deep water.
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“It takes a lot to stop them from going down the streets,” Morland said, “they plow through, no matter how deep that water is.”
Even though Morland told us it’s typical, we still saw a lot of comments online opposing the operation of the Old Town Trolley Tours trolleys on flooded streets in St. Augustine. Action News Jax brought this to the city’s attention and was told that, legally speaking, the city could not prevent the trolleys from running since the roads were open.
We also asked if there were any safety violations or concerns associated with the trolleys running in floodwater. The city told us any safety guidelines would be highlighted in its agreement with Old Town Trolley Tours. We have requested that document and are waiting to receive it.
As for Fernandez, she believes some of the drivers in her neighborhood may have been breaking a recently passed state law that went into effect in July, banning cars from creating wakes on flooded streets.
Fernandez now wants to get the city involved.
“There should be signs out here saying if it’s flooded, don’t come down the street. Like I don’t know where people’s brains are and what they’re doing,” said Fernandez.
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