ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — Large waves breached the seawalls at the bayfront of downtown St. Augustine during the nor’easter mid-day Monday, flooding parts of A1A.
“I never see it to be this deep and this flooded,” said Leah Thompson, a St. Augustine resident who drove to Castillo De San Marcos to watch the waves. “It’s pretty crazy because it isn’t even raining.”
Thompson says her young daughter, Skylar Kylarski, saw the flooding and got so excited to jump in the puddles. Not everyone was as messy as the child, but many enjoyed taking their shoes off and letting loose in the water.
The flooding seemed to come as quick as it went and only lasted less than two hours before draining away.
“This a very unusual tide cycle,” said St. Augustine City Manager John Regan. “I have never seen a nor’easter of this level.”
Regan said this was the largest tidal surge from a nor’easter in 40 years. Because a nor’easter may not always bring in this type of flooding, this took many people by surprise.
It was quite the spectacle for locals and tourists downtown as some streets were shut down and waves pummeled the seawall. Regan says the magnitude of the nor’easter’s flooding is just one more example to show the work that needs to be done to prevent this type of flooding in the future.
“We’re doing a lot of different measurements to find where the weak areas are,” Regan said. “You're only as strong as your weakest link.”
Troubled areas tend to be Porpoise Point, Davis Shores and the Fullerwood neighborhood to name a few. Regan said these neighborhoods need a solution.
Miscellaneous projects, such as elevating areas, take a lot of money.
“There’s never near enough money,” Regan said.
Regardless, Regan and residents hope to see some sort of improvement to keep their homes and businesses safe in the future.