Norfolk Man Turns Flooded Street Into Jet Ski Playground After Historic Storm

What began as a punishing storm turned into an unforgettable spectacle in Norfolk, Virginia, this week after a local business owner was caught on camera riding a jet ski straight down a flooded city street. The video, captured by viewer Ariel Bloch on August 4, shows Joe Scearce navigating the submerged intersection of Monticello Avenue and Princess Anne Road as stranded vehicles sat abandoned in rising water around him. Scearce, who owns a nearby tire shop, said he saw the flooding as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and decided to launch his jet ski right into the heart of the chaos rather than watch from the sidelines.

The flooding was the product of an extraordinary weather event that overwhelmed the city's stormwater infrastructure. Severe thunderstorms dumped as much as 6.11 inches of rain in just two to three hours over neighborhoods like Ghent, a deluge the National Weather Service classified as a 1-in-100-year event. The intensity of the rainfall was made even worse by high tide conditions, which left stormwater with nowhere to drain and turned ordinary streets into makeshift waterways within a matter of hours.

While the scene made for a viral moment of levity amid a genuinely dangerous flooding event, it also served as a vivid reminder of the growing strain severe storms are placing on aging infrastructure in coastal cities like Norfolk. Local officials continue to assess the damage from Tuesday's storms, even as footage of Scearce's impromptu jet ski ride spreads widely online, offering residents a rare bright spot amid an otherwise stressful and disruptive weather event.