PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — Heavy rain flooded roads across Port St. Lucie Tuesday afternoon, leaving some vehicles stranded, forcing children to walk through standing water after school and prompting a response from police officers and city crews.
According to the City of Port St. Lucie, a large amount of rain fell in a short period of time, leading to temporary road closures and flooding in multiple areas. Public Works crews responded to flooding near Savona Boulevard and California Boulevard, closing the roadway until it was safe for travel. The city also reported high-water conditions near Thornhill Drive and Floresta Drive, where Phase 3 construction is underway.
On Southwest Thornhill Drive, school buses continued dropping off students despite flooded streets. CBS12 News saw children step off buses carrying their shoes and walk barefoot through standing water to reach home.
Students step off a school bus into floodwaters along Southwest Thornhill Drive in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday October 6, 20206, with one child carrying his shoes and walking barefoot through standing water after heavy rain flooded area roadways. (WPEC)
Along Southwest Broadview Avenue near Crosstown Parkway, residents watched as water spilled across the roadway, making it difficult for drivers to tell where the street ended and floodwater began.
“If you didn’t see the grass here, you wouldn’t know where the road is,” resident Kevin Burke told CBS12 News. “It was steady sheets of rain for a good hour. Non-stop, and I mean heavy, heavy.”
Police officers directed traffic while Public Works crews set up barricades and monitored conditions during the evening commute.
A Port St. Lucie police officer monitors traffic and flooded streets near Crosstown Parkway as crews worked to keep drivers safe during Tuesday’s flooding. (WPEC)
Burke said flooding in the area has become a familiar problem during heavy downpours.
“When it rains heavy like it did today, it’s like this all the time, from that canal coming up,” he said.
Burke said standing water presents concerns beyond traffic issues.
“We have a pond over there by Crosstown and Bayshore. It’s got signs all around it saying there are gators in it. It’s a long shot, but it could happen, and that’s what worries me, with kids and the animals,” he said.
Several Port St. Lucie intersections are experiencing flooding Tuesday evening, with some cars partially submerged as water builds up on area roadways. (SLCScanner)
For some residents, the flooding disrupted everyday tasks.
“She has her elderly brother, who’s 83 years old, and she’s in her 60s, and she was going to run out and get Chinese food, and now she’s still sitting here waiting because she can’t get to it,” Burke said.
Earlier in the day, Port St. Lucie police reported flooding at several intersections, including SE Evans Avenue and SE Airoso Boulevard, SE Eyerly Avenue and SE Airoso Boulevard, SW Bayshore Boulevard and SW Thornhill Drive, and NE Floresta Drive and NE Ardsley Drive.
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City officials said Public Works crews continued monitoring conditions as water slowly receded Tuesday evening. Officials also reminded residents not to walk or drive through flooded roadways because it can be difficult to determine how deep the water is.