SHORE ACRES, Fla. — The streets of Shore Acres were like a river Wednesday in some areas after Idalia.

While it floods often here during strong storms, a resident with decades worth of knowledge of the area said what happened Tuesday and Wednesday was unprecedented.

Former St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster said the flooding won the battle as he showed us video taken outside of his home.

“In all of my years here, well over in excess (of) 50, I’ve never seen it this bad,” he said.

“You learn things sitting in the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) for as many years as I did, having to make decisions of evacuations and working with the county. Those decisions are made out of an abundance of caution,” Foster said.

He said he never could’ve predicted flooding to this degree.

“I suspect when you go out (Thursday) you’re going to see people’s life possessions in their yard,” he said.

Foster said he walked around and the water in some areas back in Shore Acres was waist-deep.

He eventually plans to check on his neighbors who have inches of water inside of their homes.

Meanwhile, fire crews continued Wednesday to roam the streets looking for people who needed help escaping the flood waters.