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Photos: Low-Lying Streets In Gainesville Experience Flooding

According to the Gainesville Police Department, this vehicle and one other were stuck on flooded Northwest Fourth Boulevard in Gainesville Wednesday afternoon. (Walter Harwood/WUFT News)
According to the Gainesville Police Department, this vehicle and one other were stuck on flooded Northwest Fourth Boulevard in Gainesville Wednesday afternoon. (Walter Harwood/WUFT News)

Rain from Tropical Storm Elsa caused flooding throughout some of Gainesville's low-lying areas Wednesday.

Alachua County spokesperson Mark Sexton stated in a Wednesday press release that residents reported flooding, downed power lines and downed trees throughout the Gainesville area. Northwest Gainesville was particularly inundated with rainfall from Tropical Storm Elsa, and several streets flooded after storm runoff overwhelmed irrigation ditches.

The Meadowbrook Golf Club's retention ponds struggled to contain fast-moving runoff flowing down Northwest 98th Street Wednesday, causing a pond located between Northwest 98th Street and Northwest 39th Avenue to overfill.

A stretch of Northwest 98th Street past Northwest 27th Place was closed as of Thursday morning.

Across Interstate 75 from the Oaks Mall, Northwest Fourth Boulevard experienced several feet of flooding, trapping at least two vehicles after drivers attempted to traverse the swamped street. No one was injured, and the road was still closed as of Thursday morning.

In southern Gainesville, a stretch of Southwest 63rd Avenue that connects Southwest 34th Street and Highway 441 flooded Wednesday, prompting a road closure.

Gainesville police reopened Northwest 34th Street between Hogtown Creek and University Avenue Thursday morning.

 

Houston is a reporter for WUFT News who can be reached by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.