Tiger damsTiger dams
A Tiger Dam — a water-filled barrier against floodwaters — rings the city's drainage pump at San Marco Boulevard and Landon Avenue in San Marco in preparation for Hurricane Milton's impact. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today

Jacksonville uses dams to hold back Milton’s floodwaters

Published on October 9, 2024 at 3:50 pm
Find everything you need to make informed decisions this election season, plus so much more.

Pumps are primed and dams erected as Jacksonville prepares for the wind and water of Hurricane Milton.

Jacksonville officials have already deployed extra pumps in parts of San Marco where streets flooded in other storms, usually around high tides.

Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.

High tides are expected about 3 a.m. Thursday and again about 3 p.m.

The mayor advises people to expect similar river flooding throughout the weekend and next week in parts of San Marco, Ortega, Riverside, the Southampton and St. Nicholas area of the Southside, as well as the Ribault, Trout and Moncrief waterway area.

The city also expects 2 to 4 feet of storm surge at the Beaches and along the Intracoastal Waterway near Butler Boulevard.

Article continues below

Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.

For the first time, the city is using Tiger Dams — large plastic tubes that can be filled with water to act as barriers to floodwaters.

A ring of the Tiger Dams is already in place at the Landon Avenue pump station in San Marco and at the other pump station near Children’s Way, both flood-prone areas.

More Tiger Dams more should be in place later Wednesday along the beach dunes in Atlantic and Jacksonville Beach.


author image Reporter, WJCT News 89.9 email Dan Scanlan is a veteran journalist with almost 40 years of experience in radio, television, and print reporting. He has worked at various stations in the Northeast and Jacksonville. Prior to joining the WJCT News team, Dan spent 34 years at The Florida Times-Union as a police and current affairs reporter.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.