CHARLOTTE, N.C. — June marks the start of hurricane season and also the time of year when slow-moving thunderstorms produce flooding rain.
“You can get an inch of rain in 10 minutes or you can get a couple of inches of rain in an hour,” John Wendel of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, said. “When you get something like that, wow, it comes down fast.”
Little Sugar Creek runs along the greenway near uptown Charlotte and sometimes creeks can get flash flooding really quickly in just a matter of moments.
Along certain areas of the green, the creek level only has to rise two or three feet before the area starts to flood.
“The thing is, turn around don’t drown. If you go through that standing water, you don’t know what’s underneath it,” Wendel said.
There are several things residents can do to help alleviate flash flooding:
- If you see any blockage in the creeks or tributaries, call 311 , Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services will send a crew out.
- Help clean out storm drains, but do it safely. Don’t do it from the street side, do it from the grass side. “Make sure you feel comfortable doing it. If you don’t, call 311 and they’ll send a crew out there to clean it up,” advised Wendel.
Creeks along the greenway are supposed to flood, explained WCNC Charlotte Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich. That’s where the water is supposed to go. People shouldn’t be alarmed that it’s flooded.
“If you see something making the water go up, anything out of the ordinary, call 311 to report it,” Wendel said.
Summer is the time of year when scattered storms pop up. It could three inches in one neighborhood and zero in another. The scattered storms could lead to flash flooding so always be aware of the surroundings.
This article contains commercial content from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services.