Bands of heavy winds and downpours from Tropical Storm Colin have flooded St. Pete Beach streets and homes, yet evacuations have not been ordered.
"I have taken some things off the first floor just to try to avoid the damage there, but I am pretty sure it is going to happen anyway," said Craig Gerheart, a St. Pete Beach resident for the past three years.
Gerheart waded through knee deep water to check on elderly neighbors shortly
before noon. He pointed out flood waters were already a foot above the sea wall. He was fearing high tide.
"I haven't see it like this in 10 years," Capt. Jeff Hubbard said.
ABC Action News spotted Hubbard riding his bike through the flood waters while drinking a beer.
The lifelong St. Pete Beach resident says he's got enough storm experience to know you just have to keep a good attitude and ride it out. In his case, literally.
"Well, it's 5 o'clock somewhere," Hubbard said while chuckling.
Those choosing to drive down some streets with waist-deep water quickly regretted their decision as cars stalled.
Steven Clarke moved to the area with his mother, Kim, just three months ago from the Midwest.
While he knew to get his truck to higher ground, the family admits they weren't prepared for flooding. With water coming up to their door, they had no choice but to wade through waist-deep water to get to a
home improvement store.
"It wasn't an easy trek," said a drenched Kim Clarke. "It's quite high. We were expecting it to go high today but this is even higher than I thought it was going to go."
Clarke and her son are trying to stop water from getting into their home but it is already at their front door.
"We just got back from Lowe's," said Steven Clarke. "We bought some Plexiglas and caulk so we can caulk it on a front door because we think it might get that high."
