Officials address Hurricane Ian flooding
Update: Tuesday night, the city of Kissimmee provided an update that South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has projected that Lake Toho will rise to approximately 57.2 feet, which is 0.3 feet higher than the lake’s Tuesday stage. While the lake has capacity to take on a limited amount of added water, nearby residents — an interactive map released by the city shows areas north of The Oaks and north of Neptune Road between Lawrence Silas Boulevard and Westchester Drive are at most risk — should monitor water levels, and stay alert for any evacuation orders. If residents need to evacuate, the Osceola Heritage Park shelter (pet-friendly) is open.
The recovery is always the hardest.
A local emergency order remains in effect in Osceola County as agencies continue the response to Hurricane Ian — which hastened this week.
Despite the storm sparing the community from wind-induced structural damage, and having some of the best weather we’ve had in a while in its wake, efforts have quickened as flood waters quickly moved into some neighborhoods.
Ian dropped 10 to 16 inches of rain across the area, in just about 32 hours. While flooding has eased in parts of Kissimmee and Buenaventura Lakes, where streets were water-filled to the point of closing some, it got worse early in the week around East Lake Tohopekaliga and the creeks that feed it, as well as the ones that move water out of it south toward the Everglades.
The county’s only mandatory evacuation is at Good Samaritan Village where, just like in 2017’s Hurricane Irma (which dropped half the amount of rain as Ian), Shingle Creek overflowed its basin and spilled into the neighborhood. Ian’s flooding prompted hundreds of Sheriff’s Office and National Guard high-water rescues over the weekend.
“Nobody’s going back to their homes any time soon,” Sheriff Marcos Lopez said Tuesday, as he toured the flooded area with state Attorney General Ashley Moody. “When the storm was approaching, people were alerted, but many stayed. When the power went out, we started getting the 9-1-1 calls for help to get out.”
While no longer flooded, a bridge on Kings Highway remained closed as of Tuesday, leaving residents at the south end of the road to access Neptune Road through the Kindred neighborhood. County officials said the road was being evaluated for possible damage.
Old Canoe Creek and Commerce Center Drive is closed, but motorists can access the businesses off Old Canoe Creek.
But roads closed in the immediate aftermath of the storm, like Old Tampa Highway, Hoagland Boulevard, Osceola Parkway, were open as of Tuesday.
St. Cloud officials said water was flowing out of the Canal 31 into the 2nd Street ditch. A plug was installed to mitigate that, and pumps lowering the ditch water level would bring relief to flooding on Commerce Center Drive and the Blackberry Creek area. Despite the dry, sunny weather, water levels rose through the weekend into the first part of this week, forcing a voluntary evacuation there.
Officials from the South Florida Water Management District told county commissioners Boggy Creek and Shingle Creek levels began going down on Monday. Locks and pumps are being used to move water. Eyewitness accounts show flooding on Marsh Road, off of Hoagland near Shingle Creek, was down to the base of mailboxes Tuesday after nearly covering them on Friday.
St. Cloud officials said, with East Lake at a high level, water was going into overflow ponds — it’s supposed to be the other way. In response, lake water was manually blocked from entering the ponds, which will be pumped back into the lake in the coming days, allowing stormwater to flow from the state streets to the ponds as designed.
The water moving through East Lake Toho should be cresting today or in the next couple days, but modeling of water flowing south from Seminole and Orange County is constantly changing.
“Models show several more days of high water,” St. Cloud City Manager Veronica Miller said earlier in the week. “The 2nd Street ditch is being pumped out. A number of pumps have started or are on the way. Those will pump water from where is shouldn’t be to where it should be.”
Mayor Nathan Blackwell said additional streets may flood, like those near the C-31 canal and the east side of East Lake.
“We’re not expecting flooding into homes, but it is a possibility,” he said.
A flow management piece on the north end of the city that was vandalized Saturday night has been fixed, and it will help regulate water flow, Miller said.
While some streets with standing water will remain open if vehicles can pass through them, drivers are asked to proceed slowly and drive like it’s a “No Wake Zone” to keep floodwaters from pushing towards — or into — nearby homes.
And, while the recovery phase from the wet storm continues, officials are already addressing “the next time” this happens, noting the situation at Good Samaritan Village, which sits in the flood plain of Shingle Creek, and places like Shingle Creek Reserve at the Oaks and parts of St. Cloud have required voluntary evacuations. Commissioners agreed “something needs to be done.”
“If you tried to get the permit to build (Good Samaritan) today, you wouldn’t get it,” Commissioner Cheryl Grieb said.
Commissioner Ricky Booth said he visited residents in the Majestic Oaks and Lake Ajay areas northeast of St. Cloud, and said residents whose houses had not yet flooded were very concerned.
“When we get past this event, there are things that have to change,” he said. “They love to call it water control, but when there’s a hurricane, let’s face it, it’s flood control.”
State Rep. Fred Hawkins shared some discussions with SFWMD to divert flows from Orange County away from Lake Ajay, or hold them for a couple days. He asked boaters to stay off the lakes for the time being.
“Even if you’ve navigated these lakes all your lives, it’s dangerous, you can’t see the submerged pumps, along with docks and structures,” he said. “Until you’re told otherwise, take this serious.”
At Monday’s meeting, County Manager Don Fisher asked commissioners to sign off to authorize low-flying planes to help with mosquito control, with all the standing water potentially a breeding ground for disease-carrying insects.
