Authorities have been questioned over the decision to close a main road into the city centre as concerns have been raised for traders on the route.
The Abingdon Road has become more akin to a river near the Weirs Lane junction in Oxford on the back of Storm Henk.
The road was closed to the public at the weekend - and remains closed - as fire and rescue services pump it out in an attempt to reduce the surface level of water.
READ MORE: Oxford Abingdon Road pumped out amid road closures
A spokesman for the county council said: "The decision on whether to close a road is taken purely on the basis of the level of encroaching water.
"It is never done lightly and always with safety in mind.
"There is a flood warning on the River Thames through Oxford and we tried our best to keep the route open via firefighters pumping water away.
"Despite their best efforts water levels rose too much."
The county council also announced Clifton Hampden Bridge has been closed from Abingdon Road to Long Wittenham with motorists advised to find alternative routes.
Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds told the Oxford Mail that the closure of Abingdon Road to traffic had had a "massive impact on both local residents and businesses".
She emphasised she is grateful to the city council and other organisations for their work and effort to try and pump water away from homes.
She said: "While the impact has not been as severe as in 2007, it has been frustrating to see how stretched many services have been during this period.
"It’s critical that a regular Flooding Resilience Taskforce is established, which can better coordinate local services and also ensure that money allocated for flood defences gets where it is needed as speedily and effectively as possible."
Closure of the main road comes amid long-term restricted access on Botley Road - the main road into the city centre - which is shut to vehicles until October 2024 for roadworks at the bridge.
MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, Layla Moran, added: "Oxford has faced this disruption several times over the last few years, and it can't be allowed to keep happening.
“The Environment Agency, emergency services and council staff have worked really hard, but they've been let down by inadequate resources from the Government.
“We need to see a much more effective flood prevention and mitigation strategy."
Councillor Anna Railton, of the Hinksey Park ward, suggested "the situation has, on the whole, been pretty well managed" though she pointed to "a few bumpy bits" such as one of the bus operators "not fully grasping the closure" and needing to do a three-point-turn at the closure.
Ms Railton pointed out the White House pub in Abingdon Road "was certainly full on Saturday night" and that the Tesco had done "an admirable job staying open despite being "welly-only access for multiple days".
The county council spokesman added the road would reopen "when the water recedes enough for this to happen".
Since the start of the storm year in September there have been eight named storms to hit the UK which is the highest number in a season to be named by the Met Office since it began naming them in 2015.
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