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Neighbors dig trench to keep St. Johns River floodwaters out of firefighter's home: 'The water keeps rising'

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Published  October 15, 2024 6:39pm EDT
Hurricane Milton
FOX 35 Orlando

Florida neighbors preparing for St. Johns River crest

Hurricane Milton is gone, but the rainfall is causing the St. Johns River -- and others -- to rise, which will eventually crest, potentially flooding homes nearby. "How do you prepare for that?" one neighbor told FOX 35. She and neighbors are building a berm to keep the water out and layers of sandbags around their home.

ORANGE CITY, Fla. - As the water levels of St. John's River rose on Tuesday, some communities started to flood days after Hurricane Milton.

One of those areas is Miller Road, the only street in or out of a neighborhood in Orange City.  Several families are trapped on the other side of the flooded road. Some people with lifted trucks or kayaks can get through. Everyone else is stranded. 

The flooding surprised people. Lenny Gabella, who has been frantically fighting the rising water, says he’s never seen things look how they do now in Orange City.

"We’ve been there nine years, and we’ve never had water around our home, not once," said Gabella.

Gabella is a firefighter for the City of Apopka. He said the area didn’t flood during Hurricane Milton; it was only after the storm passed that the water came in.

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"As the days progress, the water just keeps rising," he said.

When his backyard started looking like a lake, people flocked to his aid, digging a trench and berm, piling up sandbags, and hooking up pumps.

"There was probably 30 or 35 people over here moving sandbags just to get them piled up around the house," said Teresa Santos.

She is one of the people who’ve been helping out.

Tractor or kayak? Flood blocks Orange City neighborhood

FOX 35's Marie Edinger kayaked through a Volusia County neighborhood where neighbors have few options right now if they need to get out. If floodwaters continue to rise, those options would narrow even further.

"You think, ‘We’re not in a flood zone, we’re good.’ Then, next thing you know, there’s nothing but water surrounding your house. What do you do, how do you prepare for that?" 

Other homes in the neighborhood are seeing water creep up closer too. A tennis net that is almost entirely underwater shows the rising water level at one house.

"They’re trapped back here," Santos said.

Walter Lewis runs Lewis Tree Service. He used his forklift to shuttle people in and out and took FOX 35 reporter Marie Edinger through the flooded streets so she could survey the damage. He also stopped by Gabella’s house to assist with water pumps and a mote. 

FOX 35’s crew also saw another firefighter’s wife who attached wheels to her kayak so she could get it out onto the road more easily. Gabella has a lifted truck, and he can barely make it through.

"It’s exhausting," said Gabella. "I’m over it already. It’s terrible, a terrible drain on the family."

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office came out on Tuesday to check on people, and the county just opened new pre-filled sandbag stations for communities along the St. Johns River. Now, EMS said the county isn’t pumping water in the area. 

In these situations, people often ask, "What happens if there’s a medical emergency?" Here, that has already happened. 

Firefighters and EMS couldn’t get through, so Gabella had to put a woman in his truck and risk flooding his vehicle to get her help.

Concerns that could happen again are worsening with the tides.  

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