Hurricane Ian could be contributing to flooding on Southbank riverwalk

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville missed the brunt of Hurricane Ian but it’s possible that water from the storm has contributed to flooding on the Southbank riverwalk.

Here’s video of that flooding. The area has had high water problems in the past.

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The Southbank riverwalk has been flooded for almost a month. It all started when Hurricane Ian hit Florida and brought high water levels to the St. Johns River. The entry way to the Southbank riverwalk has since been taped off to the public.

“We got here and it’s all barricaded off. I haven’t been down here since the hurricane,” said Rebecca Pool.

The City of Jacksonville says the persistent flooding could be due to water levels in the St. Johns River.

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At just past high tide, the water one this side of the retaining wall is a couple feet higher than the water on the riverwalk. The city of Jacksonville tells me that from what they’ve seen, the overflow of water has only been happening during high tide.

Fast forward a few hours later and this is what the St. Johns River looks like at low tide.

“We’re just ready for it to open back up and to be able to play, we’re ready to explore again,” said Abigail Donovan.

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It’s important to note the Southbank riverwalk is in a low-lying area. According to this picture of the St. Johns River gauge, from The National Weather Service, the tide itself is not high enough to cause flooding.

Our First Alert weather team says the water should go down over the next few days. Today also marks the new moon phase, which could contribute to some of the flooding.

“Even when things were... shut down with COVID, life would happen here,” said Pool.

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To be sure that there are no drainage issues to the area, the city is says the Department of Public Works is having an engineering company check for any possible structural damage.

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