RUSKIN, Fla. (WFLA) – Homeowners in Ruskin woke up to a powerful storm, followed by flooding.
“Oh, about 9:00 a.m. this morning it started pouring rain and it was steady rain,” said Peter Schwarz who lives off of Shell Point Road.
Schwarz grabbed a shovel and started clearing drains to keep the rising water from entering his home.
“It just kept rising and rising, so I started cleaning out the manhole covers. It started to recede now that the rain has stopped, but there is supposed to be more coming,” said Schwarz.
In a neighborhood not far away, Chris Speer says he woke up to the sound of a powerful storm outside.
“It was bad, one big bolt of lightning and a flash and the whole house and was like, wow and I got up to check on things and that’s when I seen the water and it’s never come up on the porch and it was up on the porch and everything,” said Speer.
His neighbor, Patricia Ford says flooding is a common problem on their street.
“We’ve been here since 2009 and it’s this way every time it rains,” said Ford.
At one point, as the rain was pouring down on Tampa, a Hillsborough County Spokesperson said, “all of the places that normally flood, are starting to have problems.”
The people in Ruskin, off of Shell Point Road hope they soon get a break from all of the rain.
“It gets pretty bad sometimes. When we get heavy rains, it really rises,” said Don Nelson.