Homeless for the holidays: Flooding from Hurricane Milton forcing Central Florida residents out of houses

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Published  November 27, 2024 11:35pm EST
FOX 35 Orlando
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Some homeless for the holidays due to Milton flood

Thanksgiving is looking a lot different this year for many families across central Florida. Unprecedented flooding from Hurricane Milton has left many people without a home for the holidays.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - Thanksgiving is looking a lot different this year for many families across central Florida. Unprecedented flooding from Hurricane Milton has left many people without a home for the holidays.

Pam Teador is one of them. She and her husband moved to Volusia County from North Carolina in June. After purchasing their dream home, they never imagined the nightmare of having to rebuild it following major flooding.

"This was supposed to be the start of our golden years, and it’s anything but golden right now," Teador said. "We had just had a furniture delivery; we’d been waiting on our new furniture. We had just gotten that a couple of days before. The furniture still had the tags on it."

Hurricane Milton dumped more than a foot of rain near Teador’s home, but it wasn’t until a day or two later that the house began to flood, taking on several inches of water.

"It was just pouring in, from every door, from every wall," Teador said. "There were actually fish in the lanai… and people’s septic tanks overflowed, so it was a very traumatic here."

Seven weeks later, progress looked great. Fresh paint and new flooring, plus a 3-foot-high grass-covered berm around their home.

"It’s been very costly," Teador said. "We did what we felt we had to do."

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In order to move back in, though, the septic tank had to be relocated, the HV/AC system repaired, and the kitchen completely rebuilt. It’s an expensive undertaking and according to Teador, she was told the permits they applied for could take up to six weeks for approval, meaning the Teadors won’t be home for the holidays.

"I was so looking forward to having my table set and having friends over," Teador said. "I think the biggest thing I was looking forward to was putting up a Christmas tree and just really having our family here… that’s been hard."

This Thanksgiving will look a lot different for many people. Teador wants county leaders to see that and hopefully take action to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

"I’m grateful that we’re getting our house together, I’m grateful for the progress, I’m grateful we have our lives… I understand all that, but there’s still that element of sadness," Teador said. "I don’t know what the county’s plan is at this point… it sounds like a pipedream. I do want them to feel a sense of urgency and know that people are suffering, and people’s lives have been upended."

According to Teador, her request to county leaders to have the ditches and neighboring retention pond dug out was denied.

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