CAPE CORAL, FL — Cape Coral was hit with a lot of rain on Sunday and as a result, many people had cars towed and even totaled after trying to drive through all the water.
Fox 4 viewers sent in pictures and videos of what they were experiencing as Cape Coral Police say they had a lot of calls regarding flooded areas, people stuck and cars even totaled.
One of many drivers who experienced the heavy rains on Sunday said, “This is the first time I’ve seen this since the hurricane it’s just so random I didn’t expect this much rain.”
Officer Brandon Sancho with Cape Coral Police Department says, “It was pretty substantial, we saw a significant amount of calls.”
Officer Sancho went on to say how the department along with public works communicated with each other to ensure areas were covered to try and keep people safe when flooding happens.
“Our dispatch will call on-call Public Works they do the same thing for downed signage so if there’s a down stop sign we cannot leave the stop sign we have to stay there until public works is on scene and fixing the actual down stop sign the same thing when there’s significant flooding things like that they need to post actual signage and we need to wait if the actual roadway is closed we have to be able to block it off,” said Sancho
Officer Sancho said that there were people attempting to drive through medians and hitting different signs while trying to avoid the floodwaters.
However not all Cape residents were taking the situation seriously, according to Officer Sancho some were posting kayaking photos/ videos. Taking this type of topic lightly could interfere with public safety so it is important to be careful says, Officer Sancho.
“As far as a public safety standpoint you have to be extremely careful you shouldn’t be treading through any kind of water like that there may not be a down powerline then but 10..15 minutes a powerline could fall and you’re playing in the water you could get electrocuted,” said Office Sancho
Since rain is expected this week and there is a lot of construction happening already in Cape Coral, it’s important to understand posted signage, especially around the construction areas. Construction cones can get blown away easily and some roadways are not stable which is how vehicles can get stuck. Officer Sancho says to try to avoid areas you know are under construction to be safe.
“Just turn around and don’t drive through it if you do see water don’t make an assumption of how deep you think it could possibly be just don’t drive through it and wait in the parking lot and wait for some of that stormwater to recede,” said Officer Sancho
FMPD says if you see heavily flooded areas you can call the police to make them aware.
