Northeast Florida braces for effects of Tropical Storm Hermine

The mayor of Jacksonville Beach said the city is bracing for the effect of Tropical Storm Hermine and while the city has been pre-stage pumping flood prone areas, some of the state roads are expected to flood.

Mayor Charlie Latham said roads like A1A and Beach Boulevard which are owned by the state will likely flood because of the drainage system.

The Florida Department of Transportation has allocated roughly $23 million for a new drainage system but construction is not expected to begin until around 2018, according to FDOT.

“It can get pretty intense out here,” Jacksonville Beach resident Ernie Douglass said. “You have people just driving real slow trying to not stall out. You’d see people on the side streets stalled out with water up to their door handles.”

While some in Jacksonville Beach prepare for flooding, others in Huguenot Memorial Park said they were making the most of the tropical storm.

“The conditions are real clean,” surfer Damien Solorzano said. “The waves are spread out.”

Surfers said the storm is leading to ideal conditions for people to get out on the waves but with the high rip current risk, the conditions will be dangerous for anyone going in the water.

“When we get ground swells in North Florida everybody shows up,” Solorzano said.

Cox Media Group