JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thanksgiving Day plans for families in the Miramar neighborhood were interrupted Thursday morning by a water main break that forced the water to be shut off for several hours and resulted in flooded garages, driveways and yards.
According to JEA, crews responded about 5 a.m. to the water main break along Eutaw Place just off of San Jose Boulevard.
The clleanup took hours as crews repaired the valves and pumped the water out so it flowed across the street, down the sidewalk and into a creek.
"I heard the water rushing about 5 o'clock in the morning. I thought it had rained," said resident Tom Sizemore.
He then discovered what actually happened.
"I saw the water rushing down the driveway. I looked at my garage. My garage is pretty much flooded."
For one family, the water went past the driveway, down the side of the home and flooded the backyard.
As more residents awoke, they realized there was another big problem besides flooding.
"My mom was calling a lot of people around, and they said they didn't have any water pressure. I kind of woke up to that," said resident Austin Burt.
JEA warned customers in the area that they could experience low water pressure or no water at all until crews finished the repairs.
But with no water pressure, residents had no easy way to prepare Thanksgiving dinner.
"We're going to have to make some other arrangements. We've got a lot of people coming over to the house. We're not going to possibly have them here," Sizemore said.
In addition to having to make new Thanksgiving plans, Sizemore and other neighbors are wondering what, if any, serious damage will be done to their homes.
"From what I understand, they do have some kind of insurance policy to cover this stuff," Sizemore said.
At last check, a JEA spokesperson said it was unknown how many customers were affected.