Serious FL flooding Saturday that the media basically overlooked.

[madfloridian]

The heavy rains and storms were not forecast, only a 20% chance of rain was given for the week-end days.

After about 3 hours into the heavy rainfall, in some instances 7 or 8 inches....some media noticed and started giving out flash flood warnings. It was actually after the flash floods had occurred.

Polk woman lucky to be alive after car submerges under water


Boaters paddle past Fowlers car after it became submerged when heavy rains flooded the road.

WINTER HAVEN -- Heavy rains fell in Polk County neighborhoods Saturday, turning streets into rivers.

The heavy rains filled roads like Taylor Boulevard in Winter Haven to the brim. Cars were seen floating. Some people had to get around in boats.

The weather might have been expected if a tropical system like Irene had come over the area, but the sudden burst of tropical energy came out of nowhere.

It took just seconds for Samantha Fowler's car to be submerged in the flood waters. Fowler was inside and escaped through the window onto the hood.

I found one other article about this flooding, and a brief mention at the Tampa ABC affiliate. It seems the media can only do one storm at a time.

Strong Weather Moves Through Polk County

OLK COUNTY -- Strong thunderstorms drenched Polk County on Saturday afternoon as an upper level disturbance erupted over the area, allowing the storms to keep reforming and dump torrential rain.

Bay News 9 Meteorologist Diane Kacmarik said the heaviest rain fell south of Winter Haven Airport to Lake Wales and east Haines City and Lake Marion. Central Polk County was under a Flash Flood Warning for several hours earlier in the day. The warning ended at 5:45 p.m. as storms began to dissipate.

Some Polk County viewers are reporting large accumulations of rain:

Brian Reed in Grenelefe / Haines City: "7.32 inches of rain today! Even our swimming pool is up at least 6 inches."

ABC Action News WFTS mentioned it briefly.

[hedgehog]

1. Population of Polk County :606,095

Population under threat from Irene:4 million extreme threat, 20 million medium threat, 60 million low threat.

http://crisisjones.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/hurricane-irene-a-threat-to-millions-of-americans/


Also - you are comparing coverage of a storm anticipated 48 hours ahead of time and covered continuously over a 2 day track across the East Coast from South Carolina to Maine to a storm that appears to have lasted several hours in one county.

[madfloridian]

2. It had been raining torrents for hours before they gave warnings.

I was not comparing one thing with the other. I would say local media really fell down on the job.

[hedgehog]

16. I would expect the local media to pick up on this, even if it is

a relatively common event. Sorry, I thought you were upset it wasn't a national story.

[greytdemocrat]

3. Flooding like this is common in Polk.

Irene was the story. Parts of Tampa alway flood in the summer.

[madfloridian]

4. Well, alrighty then.

That settles it.

[greytdemocrat]

9. Am I wrong???

It's pouring here at my house right now and it wouldn't surprise me if parts of St. Armands Circle and Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island are flooded right now. Shoud I call the Media and demand they send a news truck???

People need to get a grip. It's Summer in Florida, you know, the "rainy season"...

[madfloridian]

12. Tell me you did not say "get a grip"!!

[uppityperson]

5. rec'd to zero. Thank for posting this. Came to DU to see what's happening re flooding

[Waiting For Everyman]

6. Well Floridians keep insisting this is nothing to them.

They can dish it out, so they can take it too. I'll be nice and not mock the flooding as they did, and I'll refrain from giving Floridians a hard time while it's going on, as they did. I think that's more than fair.

Why should the media notice, that would be hype? It's nothing, we don't want them blowing it out of proportion, just to get viewers in Florida.

(stupid, isn't it)

[madfloridian]

10. I do not mock about any hurricane. I speak of severe flooding in FL

that was not mentioned much. I notice they did not even give the reason this area flooded like that....just that the people had requested help before.

[Waiting For Everyman]

13. I know mad, and I certainly didn't mean you

or other Floridians who have not acted that way - many have been very empathetic and caring. There's no broad brush and I was being sarcastic about how a certain clique here has been acting about Irene. Of course I do care about this flooding in Florida and I'm glad you posted about it to let us know.

[RockaFowler]

7. This is what happens in the Summer in Florida, though

When I was much younger we lived in Naples on the East Coast of Florida (my Dad still lives on Marco Island). Every Summer like clockwork we would have horrific rains that had nothing to do with hurricanes - just typical Florida Summer Weather. We had a really low car back then (a Triumph TR6 that was my Dad's baby). I remember getting out of the car on 5th Ave in downtown Naples and watch as the knee high water started to get into the car.

We had a Tropical Storm here on the Treasure Coast in 2008 - Tropical Storm Fay. Ever heard of it?? Well, it caused widespread flooding all throughout the Treasure Coast. But nothing was ever mentioned on the National News about it - how do I know?? Well I work for the local NBC station - we covered it, but National NBC said it wasn't that big of a story - just a Tropical Storm, just a small town in Florida.

It's normal for us in Florida. It's not a normal activity to see flooding in Vermont from a Tropical Storm of any kind. It's not normal to see a Tropical Storm hit New York City. But it did and the news covered it - because it was news.

[madfloridian]

11. Cars seldom are underwater here.

[RockaFowler]

15. I was 8 years old when it happened to us

So that was around 1979. Flooding happens all the time in Florida. Especially when we have an overabundance of rain. We are at sea level. It comes with the territory.

This was my neighborhood during Tropical Storm Fay 2008:




This is the area to our local Sam's Club - couldn't get in or out of this road


The Florida National Guard had a tough time, too


This is Florida, though. We have gone through it - they have not. This is news when it happens somewhere else. If the storm hit here when it was right off our coast on Thursday, I have a feeling we may have been a bigger story.

[madfloridian]

18. You are comparing a TS to a day with 20% chance of rain?

[Broderick]

8. There was no profit by whipping up hysteria in this case

That is why it gets little attention.

The Corporations for profit have taken control of our vital national interests in regards to public safety and public announcement and so many here welcome their corporate overlords.

The same for profit media that whipped us into a frenzy so they could report on a War in Iraq.

And some here praise them all day while they do what they do.

[Waiting For Everyman]

17. I thought you didn't want any hysteria.

So why don't you say what it is that you DO want? Do you want coverage, or not? You can't have it both ways. (Well you can say that, but you won't get it - because, a thing is not its opposite. Sorry to break it to you.)

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. On the big picture... even if this happens every year

(we have Mission Valley also flood every years... it is a big whatever usually)... we are starting to see the effects of Global Weather change.

As to covering, I hope YOUR LOCAL MEDIA did at least.

But I can understand, if this indeed happens all the time, why this was not national nooz.

In another weekend perhaps.

[madfloridian]

19. It doesn't flood like that as a common occurrence with 20% chance of rain.

I have lived here all my life through 4 or 5 major hurricanes minimum, and I have never ever seen flooding like that.