Tropical Storm Debby Causes Flooding in Carrollwood

Hovering over the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Debby is making one thing clear: She's here to stay.

On Sunday, the storm drenched Tampa Bay with rain, stalling cars, flooding residential streets and causing power outages. Meanwhile, forecasters say more rain is expected in the coming days.

In Carrollwood and Northdale on Monday, where seven to 10 inches of rain fell since the storm began, county officials and residents prepared for the worst, encouraging residents to keep their personal property away from the water and to take advantage of

"The ground is just saturated," said Steve Valdez, county spokesman. "Normally, after a very heavy rainfall event, within an hour of so, the water subsides. In the northwest part of Hillsborough, the ground saturated very quickly."

Valdez said county workers are trying to work on clogs in the drainage system, but rain-filled ditches on major thoroughfares like Ehrlich Road are making it difficult to remove water from flooded streets like Winterwind Drive.

"We do have pumps," Valdez said, "but you have to have a place to pump it to."

In most parts of the area, business carried on as usual, despite the gloomy weather.

"We are going to see how the storm develops and see how we do with evening classes this week," said Adrienne Hutelmyer, marketing and community relations director at the Carrollwood Cultural Center. "As of now, everything is running per schedule."

In Northdale, a few trees were reported to have fallen down, but activities carried on at the Northdale Recreation Center, said Bill Castens, a resident who is also treasurer of the Northdale Civic Association.

"We've just had some minor problems," he said. "It's a pretty good-sized storm."

Dan Ruskiewicz, community association manager in Carrollwood Village, said flooding threatened homes in the area.

"Water came halfway up the driveways, but not into the houses," he said. "Some areas of the Village flooded, and you can't get to the houses. We'll be out tomorrow cleaning up branches, but there's no trees down.

"I don't know what happens if we get more rain, though."

Valdez said more rain in today's forecast could cause more issues for northwest Hillsborough County.

"We are literally trying to keep our heads above water."

How is your neighborhood faring? Let us know in the comments section.

See also:

• Tampa Bay Area Tornado Watch Extended
• How Are Carrollwood and Northdale Weathering the Storm?