COCOA, Fla. – A part of Central Florida that's normally picturesque like something straight from a postcard now has authorities advising that those who don't live on North Indian River Drive should stay away as the road continues to flood.
Randy Lathrop said long-time riverfront residents have seen this before.
"Yes, it's gone up over the road, but the wind should die off around Friday or so," Lathrop forecasted. "(I'm) not necessarily concerned. We should be fine."
Lathrop, a Cocoa photographer, discovered a mysterious canoe that washed up on the same road after Hurricane Irma. That same curiosity took him back along the Indian River Wednesday.
"Once again, I jumped on my bicycle and went for a ride to check it out," he said.
News 6 watched with Lathrop observing the road and the river as one.
"You have a system that just stops and stalls off the coast and just allows the wind to just batter and push the water for three or four days," he said.
High winds and record rain began the flooding of North Indian River Drive earlier this week.
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office asked drivers Wednesday to avoid a two-mile stretch of the road from north Cocoa to Sharpes.
"It's been unique when the ducks are swimming in the middle of the road," driver John Bassett said.
"It is what it is. We can get through it," another driver, William Wilson, said.