Heavy rains flood Bay Area neighborhoods

PALM RIVER, Fla. (FOX 13) - Heavy rain Thursday morning caused high water and street flooding in several Bay Area neighborhoods, leaving many streets looking like streams.

Based on rainfall rates measured by SkyTower Radar, it appears most of the Bay Area received between 1 and 3 inches of rain, and more in some locations.

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Fed up neighbors say it happens every time it rains in their corner of Hillsborough County, cornered between Causeway Boulevard, the Selmon Expressway, and Interstate 75.

“I can’t go anywhere. Hopefully, it will be all dried up so I can tomorrow,” Latifah Hewitt said.

Residents, once again, saw their streets completely underwater and, for those on Tampa’s Ventura Avenue, it’s a problem that’s starting to get old.

“People in the neighborhood can’t go to work. Cars get stranded coming down the streets,” explained Sherri Gonzalez. “Today was the worst day of the flooding since we’ve been here.”

The water was so deep, Gonzalez took advantage of the street-turned-river.

“We went kayaking to see how far we could get with the kayaks; we got to pretty much to the entrance this way and about halfway down the road the other way,” she told FOX 13 News.

Once the flood waters subside, problems still linger.

“It’s effecting everybody’s house. It’s getting trash up in their yards. It’s annoying as all can be,” said Gary Winthrope.

The rain also leaves behind a less than enjoyable smell. Neighbors hope changes will be made so heavy rainstorm does not also mean a day trapped inside.

Put simply, Gonzalez said, “We don’t want to live like this anymore.”