Seminole, Astor flood woes continue 3 weeks after Irma
More than three weeks after Hurricane Irma swept through Central Florida, residents living in low-lying areas are still dealing with rising waters from the powerful storm.
Flooding woes continue in neighborhoods ranging from areas near Lake Harney in east Seminole County to the remote community of Astor in northeast Lake County.
“It’s static; it hasn’t really moved,” Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel, who lives off Whitcomb Drive along the southwestern shore of Lake Harney, said Tuesday. “Most of the folks are driving in once a day with their trucks. Insurance adjusters can’t get in; FEMA can’t get it.”
Lake Harney is fed by the St. Johns River, which was bloated by Irma rains that also spilled
over upriver in Astor about 50 miles away. Astor resident Nancy Brand, 74, said water that poured over the seawall of her canal when Irma hit still laps up to her back porch.
She said the floodwaters emitted a putrid smell, and a friend “came with a trash can and filled it up with the dead fish floating in the driveway.”
The water level in Astor went down 8 inches but increased over the weekend and was again inches away from major flood stage by Tuesday.
“Guess what? The water’s up again,” Brand said. “The docks are all underwater, and the backyards are more than squishy.”
Near Lake Harney, Bob McKamey left his home a day before Irma tore through the region Sept. 11. He had to wait for the waters to recede enough for him to drive his pickup into his driveway and relied on a friend with a high-rise Jeep with monster tires to drive him to his house.
Likewise, Julie Atwell and her family, who live along the Lake Harney shore, canoed to their home after Irma’s rains flooded their property and garage. Fortunately, their home is high up and was unaffected by the water. They evacuated a week after the storm because the flooding disabled their septic tank, she said.
At 1.5 feet above flood stage, the area still has “major flooding,” according to the National Weather Service.
But the flooding crisis is easing in other areas.
Waters have mostly receded from the massive Good Samaritan Society Village — Kissimmee Village, south of Kissimmee. Rains from Irma caused the nearby Shingle Creek to overflow, dousing the community with several feet of water.
Floodwaters poured into homes and apartments in the retirement community, causing extensive damage to about 450 units, while a few hundred had less damage, said Guy Matson the village’s regional vice president of operations.
In Altamonte Springs, Jerry Yelcho was finally able to return to his home in the Spring Oaks subdivision after being evacuated by police officers on kayaks Sept. 11. His home sits along the Little Wekiva River, which overflowed and flooded several properties in his neighborhood, just west of Montgomery Road.
“It was very emotional,” said Yelcho, 80. “I cried. I thought I was going to lose my house.”
His home didn’t sustain any water damage. Even so, he has never seen the river’s water levels rise that high in nearly four decades of living along Little Wekiva Road.
“I’ve seen it go up pretty high,” Yelcho said. “But this is the highest I’ve ever seen it in my 38 years of living here.”
City Manager Frank Martz said all of the evacuated residents along Little Wekiva Road have been able to return to their homes.
“Most of the flooding has subsided,” he said. “Some people had water in their garage. Some had water in their houses. We’ve seen a number that have had to lift up their carpets.”
He said the city will continue helping residents in that area.
Most of Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs was flooded, but the walkways and boardwalks are now open, and only the amphitheater is still waterlogged.