UNWELCOME SURPRISE: Nearly half a foot of rain and fierce winds trail Frances as it sweeps into the gulf. WIDESPREAD PROBLEMS: Power outages and rising water frustrate thousands of bay area residents.
By THOMAS C. TOBIN
Published September 7, 2004
[Times photo: Skip O'Rourke]
A 4- to 6-foot storm surge turned Bayshore Boulevard into a river along Tampa's waterfront, a familiar scene throughout bay area communities.
Tampa Bay area residents awoke before dawn Monday to roaring wind and rain, bending trees and rising floodwaters, part of a surprisingly furious goodbye from the remains of Hurricane Frances.
The storm's massive rear flank dumped three to five inches of rain over the region after midnight. It also carried winds that spiraled back from Gulf of Mexico and slammed the coast with 45 mph gusts, pushing water up the mouth of Tampa Bay at high tide.
The combination caused major flooding across the region, chased people from their homes, closed schools again today and left 480,000 utility customers without power.
In Tampa, a 4- to 6-foot storm surge pushed bay waters over sea walls and swamped Bayshore Boulevard. West Shore Avenue flooded near Gandy Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue. The Hillsborough River went over its banks in downtown and west Tampa.
In St. Petersburg's low-lying Shore Acres neighborhood, floodwaters swallowed docks and crept into dozens of waterfront homes. Trapped by flooded streets, many residents could only watch the water come closer. In nearby Snell Isle, the concrete lions that decorate street corners were up to their necks.
In Citrus County late Monday, an estimated 15,000 residents west of U.S. 19 were told to evacuate as a storm surge and an 11 p.m. high tide conspired to cause widespread flooding.
Similar scenes played out in Oldsmar, Dunedin, Clearwater, New Port Richey, Zephyrhills, Hudson, Brooksville and beyond.
Across the area, residents took to the streets in johnboats, canoes, kayaks, sailboats, even a jet ski or two. Some waded dangerously in water up their knees and thighs.
And more flooding is on the way. Today, the Alafia River is expected to rise nine feet above flood stage at Lithia in eastern Hillsborough County, threatening 60 homes and affecting travel on State Road 640.
On the bright side, Tampa International and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International airports reopened Monday, as did the Sunshine Skyway bridge.
But the list of travails was long, befitting a storm that threatened the Tampa Bay area for days, then slowly wore it down with wave after wave of wind and rain.
"In 26 years I've been here, I've never been through anything like this," said John Long, the superintendent of Pasco County Schools, who was going on 30 hours without power in his Land O'Lakes home.
"This is actually the storm from hell."
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Frances Austin and her son Steven have lived in Shore Acres for 25 years but recently moved to a house at 1579 Connecticut Ave., a low point in their neighborhood.
"We took water in the garage starting about 3 a.m.," Steven said. "By 6 a.m. it was up to the house. By 10 it was coming inside."
At the Scottish Towers condominiums near the Dunedin Causeway, high winds ripped away portions of the roof. Rain cascaded through the walls, flooding all three floors.
"It looks like a river coming down through each floor and out the electrical outlets," said fire marshal Steve Strong.
In Oldsmar, Larry Stevens went to sleep at 4 a.m., convinced his bayfront home was safe. Two hours later, he awoke to find water three inches from his back door. Stevens, 61, and his wife stacked sandbags outside their doors and crammed rugs against the insides.
"We had this crazy idea it would stop the flow," said Mary Stevens, 57. But water seeped in through the walls and doors, rising to 4 inches in the living room.
"I wanted to get out," she said, "but there was nowhere to go."
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On Tampa's Davis Islands, which lost power Sunday afternoon, the storm's biggest impact was felt overnight. Winds rattled windows, toppled palm trees and snapped tree branches.
Fire officials said what they mostly encountered Monday morning were flooded streets - an unhealthy combination of saltwater and wastewater.
After the rains subsided, people walked their dogs knee-deep in water. With air conditioners out, several opened doors and windows.
Lee Pickering, 75, who lives on Channel Drive with his wife Margaret, 65, said he awoke Monday to find two rats swimming from the rocks that line the channel toward his porch. Armed with a cane, he shooed them away.
"That son of a gun come swimming across the road. I was on the porch. I kept knocking him with my cane, and he decided to go the other way," Pickering said, laughing.
By Monday afternoon, island life was returning to normal. People were out cleaning their yards, and floodwaters were receding.
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In Pasco County, high winds and heavy rain flooded streets, damaged a condo in New Port Richey and forced an emergency evacuation in Zephyrhills.
"It's much worse today. Much worse," said Ken Hartman of the Sea Ranch area in Hudson. "You see stuff flying down the road, signs, trees, aluminum. It's just nasty."
It was nasty all over the county on Monday. For people living along rivers, it might get worse.
More rain was expected today, causing "moderate to major" river flooding, according to the National Weather Service.
In Elfers, residents on the Anclote River kept a nervous watch on the water Monday afternoon as it rose into their back yards.
"It's been moving up rapidly since about 8 o'clock this morning," said Lynn Karp, who lives on a flood-prone street appropriately named Paddle Court. Karp did not plan to evacuate yet.
"Basically we're not going to leave unless we have to," she said. "We're going to ride it out."
About 63,000 Pasco residents were without power Monday afternoon. Power company officials said they couldn't promise restoration until Frances had passed.
"We can't even get out to assess the damage," said Progress Energy spokesman Rick Janka.
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Frances' eye passed just south of Aripeka and into the Gulf of Mexico Sunday night, but its slow-moving easterly bands continued to pound Hernando County early Monday.
Emergency management director Tom Leto said sustained winds of 60 mph, coupled with severe rainfall, continued throughout the morning. The storm's refusal to leave stalled cleanup efforts.
"This morning," Leto said Monday, "it started raising Cain again."
With some schools being used as shelters still without electricity, officials canceled today's classes but hoped to reopen Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a storm surge advisory from the National Weather Service led to a mandatory evacuation of coastal areas west of U.S. 19, home to some 2,200 people in Hernando County.
Officials said they began going door to door along the coast at about 4 a.m. Monday, telling people to flee. Only a few complied. Fortunately, they said, many decided to leave as Frances approached.
More than 40,000 customers were without power across the county, and Progress Energy and Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative officials said they could not say when electricity would be restored.
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By 6:30 p.m. Monday, water began covering streets in Crystal River. In the Dixie Shores neighborhood, Traci Wood loaded framed pictures into a suitcase, grabbed a plastic tub of dog food and left her home as waves began cresting over a seawall in her back yard.
"I'm just going to grab pictures and clothes; that's all I care about," she said.
Her husband Kevin had come by earlier to rescue the motorcycle, and rode out wearing a wetsuit and goggles.
In a neighborhood just north of downtown Crystal River, Marian Nosal ran out to the end of her street to check the approaching flood. Pools had formed in some of her neighbors' lawns.
"I've seen tides as high as that. However, that's low tide we're looking at," she said. "And there's another high tide coming in a few hours."
Times staff writers Rebecca Catalanello, Justin George, David Karp, Alex Leary, Molly Moorhead, Steve Thompson, James Thorner, Terry Tomalin and Will Van Sant contributed to this report.
