‘Completely flooded’: Record rainfall leads to flash floods, large washout in Sanford

SANFORD, Fla. — Afternoon storms flooded areas of Central Florida on Sunday, including Sanford, which prompted road closures and warnings from law enforcement.

As of 8 p.m., parts of Sanford have seen over 5.8 inches of rain, which shattered the last record on this date of 2.03 inches.

A large washout has also opened up near Fort Mellon Park.

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When the rain came Sunday afternoon, the streets in Sanford quickly filled up with water.

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“Right now, my garage is under 3 inches of water,” said Sanford homeowner Sean Dewolfe.

Some streets south of downtown looked more like a lake than a neighborhood.

Yards were flooded out, cars stalled out in the high water and a truck was stuck in the mud.

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Neighbors said they’ve seen flooding before – but never this bad.

“It’s all the way up to my driveway. It’s flooded the side yard, the backyard that side over there,” said Sanford homeowner Tony Bellioni. “Completely flooded; everything is underwater.”

Bellioni was out with a rake cleaning pine needles and other debris away from the storm drains but the water levels weren’t dropping.

“I’ve check, and all three of them are open. And so that shows the drainage system is not adequate to catch 2 inches of rain,” Bellioni said.

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Sanford police blocked off roads around town and kept people away from flooded areas.

Some residents confronted drivers in the area because cars and trucks driving through were pushing water closer and closer to their homes while the rain continued to fall.

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