Hillsborough Sheriff's Deputies Rescue Residents As River Floods Homes

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — As heavy rainfall continues to inundate southeast Hillsborough County Wednesday afternoon, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister is imploring residents to stay off the roads.

With the unusually high king tide peaking Wednesday afternoon, he said conditions on roads in Riverview, Gibsonton, Progress Village and in the Town 'N' Country area in northwest Hillsborough could worsen.

"We're seeing some increased flooding in the southeast county. This is exactly what we were all worried about," he said. "In 32 years, I've never seen it this bad. I feel horrible."

He said he has about 1,000 additional deputies on patrol, responding to more than 140 calls for rescues and clearing trees from blocked roads with chainsaws. Chronister was personally out surveying the damage in the early-morning hours on Wednesday.

"I was disappointed to see residents out, speeding trucks down flooded roads and sending 3 to 5 feet of wake into homes that are already flooded," he said.

Equally distressing, he said, were several drunk driving crashes involving people attending so-called "hurricane parties."

"They ended up spending the hurricane locked up in Hillsborough County facilities,"I'm imploring people to stay safe and stay at home."