Tampa Flood Clean Up

Some Rain Must Fall

In his well-known poem "The Rainy Day," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow [1807-1882] concluded:

Into each life some rain must fall,

Some days must be dark and dreary.

Certainly this could not have been some premonition of recent days in Florida, could it?   The Gulf View Square Mall in Port Richey closed mid-afternoon. Parts of Anclote River Estates were evacuated. Streets and intersections in Tampa were flooded. The Sky Way Bridge closed at times, & Buddy Brew on Kennedy Avenue in Tampa gave away coffee to stranded motorists.

Even the Pony Express, now known as the U.S. Postal Service, was halted from its operating slogan, "the mail must go through," due to flooding.  I thought they never stopped!   This was not a futuristic movie of natural disaster; it is/was real life in the Tampa Bay region as rainfall descended at unprecedented rates in late July and into August.  

Just under six inches of rain in 12 hours was reported in Odessa at one point, while more than seven inches fell in Palm Harbor and close to five and a half in Dunedin!   Imagine heading home via the I-275 southbound exit ramp at Westshore Blvd. to find it flooded at the bottom and gridlock of autos backed up to the highway. Rescue units were out in full force plucking folks from flooded homes and evacuating families from flooded apartment complexes.

Curt Gadson, a federal employee who was stuck on a flooded Palmira Avenue in Palma Ceia, joked about capturing the water and sending it to drought-ridden California. In Palm Harbor, jon boats and Humvees were pressed into service to bring people out of an RV park. Even Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority got into the action, sending out a couple buses to assist stranded residents. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge boasted winds gusting up to 43 miles per hour, and the Florida Highway Patrol advised everyone to use caution if they had to go that way.

The Anclote River rose close to its highest ever, and rain fell in some places at the rate of three inches per hour. And for a few days and ensuing weeks in this neck of the woods, it's possible that the Sunshine State was fast becoming the Waterlogged State. Most of you probably saw the facebook map where our area was under water in the middle of Florida!

The normal average rainfall for August fell in just the first three days. July ended with 4.7 inches above average rain. The flatness of the land along with our location means that the greater Tampa region often experiences heavy rainstorms and local flooding. Tropical storms and hurricanes bring more damage and floods than the typical, afternoon thunderstorms, but all can damage property and threaten health and well-being.

The City of Tampa has produced a Stormwater Department Flood Protection brochure available by clicking this link here.

But the bottom line is this:

If you have/had water seeping into your living room, master bedroom, kitchen, carport or anywhere, you don't much care about the statistics.  You know there's been wa-a-a-ay above average rain. You're looking at it in places you don't want to see it, possibly damaging your property and stuff. Stick with Bin There Dump That's Dumpster Diva for flood tips, clean-up advice and debris removal dumpster rentals coming next to our blog!