Ike's Surge Threatens Low Areas Of Florida Coast

Residents along waterways and shorelines from Lee to Levy counties can expect another round of coastal flooding during high tide this morning from Hurricane Ike.

The National Weather Service in Ruskin is warning that today's tides will be pushed 2 to 3 feet above normal, about the same level as Wednesday.

That surge caused minor flooding in low areas and battered some shoreline roads to bits. Even with Ike nearly 300 miles south-southwest of Tampa, swirling winds piled water against the state's west coast.

The National Weather Service received reports of street flooding in Shore Acres in Pinellas County and of water pushing over docks in St. Pete Beach.

In Tampa, water topped the sea wall along portions of Bayshore Boulevard and downtown.

Flooding caused some trouble at the CapTrust Financial Advisors building on Whiting Street along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa.

Openings in the sea wall, which directs stormwater from downtown to the river, allowed up to 4 inches of water to be dumped into a basement parking area. Leaks elsewhere in the sea wall added to the flooding.

Workers ran pumps for hours to keep up with the rising tide even after it started to ebb about noon.

The flooding was more severe south of Tampa Bay, closer to the passing storm.

Minor road flooding occurred in Manatee County's Holmes Beach, on Anna Maria Island. The storm tide submerged roads across Sarasota County and its barrier islands during the morning high tide. Waves 4 to 6 feet high wreaked havoc along the coast. Chunks of unstable asphalt on North Beach Road gave way under rough surf that pounded across the road and into front yards.

The weather service also warned of high surf and rip tides.

Beaches already were eroded by Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Fay. Those storms wiped out 40 to 50 feet of beach at Turtle Beach on southern Siesta Key. The loss of sand at Longboat Key is estimated at 100,000 cubic yards along its 10 miles of beach.

The low tide Wednesday afternoon did not drop as far as normal, remaining about 2 feet above the usual level.

The threat of coastal flooding could linger into Friday depending on how fast Ike moves today and its distance from the coast on Friday.