THAT SHARK IN THE FLOODED STREET PHOTO IS GOING VIRAL AGAIN — Here’s the Truth
By Staff Reports
Seen it yet? A shark fin cutting through a flooded Florida street, pickup trucks splashing past like it’s just another Tuesday. The picture — this recreation of it is the one making the rounds now — blows up every single time Florida floods, and with this week’s historic rains swamping the state, it’s back.
Here’s the truth: the “shark in the street” is one of the internet’s oldest and toughest hoaxes. Versions of it have resurfaced after storm after storm for more than a decade, and fact-checkers have knocked it down every time. There’s no verified case of a shark cruising down a Florida roadway.
So why does everybody believe it for at least a second? Because Florida floods really do turn the wildlife loose — just not that one. After major storms, alligators wander into neighborhoods, yards, and garages. Fish end up in ditches and driveways. Snakes ride the water into places snakes should never be. Emergency officials warn about exactly this every hurricane season, and it’s why they beg people to stay out of floodwater: you genuinely cannot see what’s in it.
And this week, Florida’s water is no joke. The same storm system that dropped a 1-in-1,000-year rain on the state has rivers still rising — you can read our full report in the Weather section. In water like that, the rule is simple: if you wouldn’t swim in it, don’t wade in it.
So no, that’s not a real shark on a real street. But the fact that all of Florida looked at it and thought “…yeah, that could happen here” might be the most Florida thing of all.
Got REAL photos of this week’s flooding — wildlife in weird places, water where it shouldn’t be? Send them to tips@floridachatter.com and we may feature them (with your permission and your name on the credit).
Join the conversation: Be honest — when you first saw the shark photo, did you believe it? Tell us in the comments.
Sources: Snopes (highway shark hoax archive), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission flood safety guidance