Suspected Shark Filmed Swimming Through Flooded Fort Pierce Intersection as Video Goes Viral
Fort Pierce, a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, was hit by record rainfall on November 2, leaving many streets flooded. Video filmed by a local driver shows a large fish, believed to be a shark, swimming through a busy intersection, its dorsal fin above the water as it thrashed through the floodwater. The clip spread rapidly on social media after FOX Weather and other outlets published it on November 5.
According to FOX Weather, the video was filmed by local resident Franshara Napoleon. She told the video agency Storyful that she was on her way to pick her daughter up from school before the storm got worse when she noticed something moving in the flooded street, began recording and realized it was a shark. "I was in disbelief," she said. In the footage, the fish swims and splashes through the intersection, trying to flee passing cars.
Surfer reported that the intersection was at 25th Street and Midway Road. Local outlet TCPalm, citing the National Weather Service in Melbourne, reported that Fort Pierce airport recorded 5.39 inches of rain on November 2, breaking the daily record of 2.24 inches set in 1946; FOX Weather, citing the National Weather Service, said the city received roughly 10 inches of rain over the three days from Sunday to Tuesday. St. Lucie and neighboring counties declared local states of emergency on November 2, and roads in Fort Pierce including South 25th Street were closed for a time because of flooding.
The exact species of the fish has not been officially confirmed. FOX Weather and Weather.com both described it only as a fish "believed to be" or that "looked like" a shark. Surfer assessed that it was most likely a bull shark, while also stating clearly that the species remains officially unconfirmed. This story therefore refers to it only as a suspected shark.
The same Monday, about an hour north of Fort Pierce in Indian Harbour Beach, another video showed a large tarpon swimming through flooded Gleason Park. Alex Martinez, who recorded it, told Storyful that a group of tarpon were swimming in the park's floodwater and one came within about two feet of him, adding that he grew up in the Satellite Beach and Indian Harbour Beach area and had never seen the park flood like that before. FOX Weather, citing the National Weather Service, said Indian Harbour Beach reported more than 16 inches of rain from Sunday to Tuesday. As of publication, no official agency had confirmed the species in the Fort Pierce video.
Source: FOX Weather
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 佛罗里达州Vero Beach一处住宅区街道被洪水淹没的资料图（CC0，经Wikimedia Commons），非事发路口画面
