Flooding damages vehicles

Published 10:22 am Friday, June 3, 2016

Severe storms early Thursday created flooding issues around the region.

On Monroe Street in Ironton, several residents awoke to find their cars, parked along the street, flooded, with the water line reaching several inches up the door.

Jackie Heighton, a resident on the street said that her car, along with three others, had several inches of water in it, and that she and her neighbors were unable to start two of them.

Email newsletter signup

“There was water coming out of the mufflers,” she said. “These cars are ruined.”

Donna Barnett was using a wet/dry vacuum to remove the water from her car.

“The floor mats were floating,” she said.

Barnett said the flooding on the street was so severe, it caused the covers to come off the manholes.

She said the street had a history of flooding.

“This always floods, even if it rains a little bit,” she said.

She said she disagreed with the assessment of city officials, who she said told her the flooding was due to an “act of God.”

“Myself, I don’t think it’s an act of God, when the street has been this way for years,” she said.

Mike Pemberton, the street superintendent for the city, said the flooding was due to the sheer amount of rain that came from the storm.

“We had 2.2 inches fall in just one hour,” he said. “Our system is not designed to handle a rain event of that level.”

He said to his knowledge, there were no issues with clogged drains.

“From what I observed there was no blockage in the city’s catch basins and drains,” he said.

Heighton said she hoped the city would pay for the clean-up of the cars, but Pemberton said that would fall under the services of a private insurance provider.

“We can’t control the weather,” he said.

Dennis Gumbert, the city’s wastewater superintendent, agreed the intense amount of rain was the cause of the issue.

“When you have that much, it’s a lot for even a Florida coastal town, let alone us,” he said.

He said crews had visited the area on Monroe Street, but when they got there, the water had already receded.

“We sent the street sweeper up there to clean up,” he said. He said there had been no prior issues with flooding on the street, since he assumed office in January.

Pemberton said he had heard of flooding in other areas, particularly on the south side, while Gumbert said they had received several calls.

“We have guys out this morning, looking at areas, as we get the calls,” he said.