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Orlo Vista residents brace for possible flooding
Residents in Orlo Vista have seen their fair share of flooding following previous hurricanes. Their now on edge as they brace for flooding as Potential Cyclone 4 inches closer to Florida
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Some areas of Orange County are still recovering from Hurricanes Ian and Idalia.
The County has been working to improve drainage so the flooding we saw in those storms doesn’t happen again this year.
Orange County’s Public Works Department says it prepares year-round for storms, clearing out drains and keeping its infrastructure up and running.
To prepare for this weekend, they made sure their generators all had fuel so pump stations don’t go down even with power outages, and they have extra staff on standby.
But that extra work doesn’t put everyone at ease when today they’re recovering from a flood that just happened during a regular storm Thursday.
Mary Jean Noel says two years later, her sister still hasn’t finished repairs on her house after Hurricane Ian flooded Orlo Vista.
"Everything, garbage," Noel recalled. "Our clothes, damaged. She lost everything in this house. Water was like that."
Part of the problem is that wasn’t the only flooding event in Orlo Vista.
"Every storm, all houses are damaged," said Noel.
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"My sister wants to sell this house but can’t. Nobody wants to buy, because there’s a lot of water every storm."
So Orange County is trying to prepare for what could happen in an actual tropical storm or hurricane. Orange County Public Works. Department Public Information Officer Darrel Moody says the County has been working to mitigate flood risk.
"Clearing any debris, garbage, trash, stuff like that, things that can clog an inlet, that can cause street flooding and then obviously subsequently gets worse."
The County is digging out three different ponds to make them deeper so they can hold extra water.
When that project is done, the County says it should protect Orlo Vista against a 100-year flood event.
The County hoped to be finished by this summer, but supply chain issues mean they can’t finish the Pump Station yet and will have to rely on temporary and portable pumps through this hurricane season.
And they’re asking anyone with problems with flooded roads to call 311.
"If it's still there an hour later, then obviously, we've got a drainage problem. If it's gone within an hour or two, then it just takes time to work its way through the system," said Moody.
Moody suggests people treat this weekend’s storm as a trial run.
It might not be as bad as a major hurricane, but it’s still something to be wary of – and is a good opportunity to work on your hurricane kit and action plan.