Apopka residents plea for help as floodwaters invade their community

APOPKA, Fla. — Communities across Central Florida are still dealing with flooding caused by Hurricane Milton almost a week ago.

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In Apopka, neighbors have had no power for days, as floodwater inch closer and closer to their homes.

“It got worse and worse and worse,” said Amber Barrick, Apopka Resident. “On Friday, we were measuring it, and it’s getting about an inch an hour, and it’s just a constant flow. There’s a retention pond behind us.”

Videos shared by residents at Wekiva Village in Apopka show the street was not as flooded just a couple of days before.

Read: Daytona Beach business owner credits preps before Hurricane Milton for cleanup

Now, the water is almost going inside their homes.

“The water on my driveway was really low, close to the street. That was Friday,” said Angelica Jones, an Apopka resident, pointing to the marks on her driveway. “Saturday, it was not here at this line; yesterday, it came to the line, and by now, it’s all the way past it.”

Channel 9 also visited Nikki Oren’s home, and showed a marker she put in her backyard to track just how fast the water is coming.

Read: How Winter Park fared after Hurricane Milton with buried power lines

“We did that yesterday to try to measure how much it will come up, and it’s already come up by an inch,” said Oren. “It’s not like it’s a problem we can just wait for the sun to take care of. It’s ‘a continuing to rise’ issue.”

To make matters worse, these residents also had their power turned off. “our wires go under the ground and into those boxes,” said Jones. “So the higher the water level rises in those boxes, the more likely the water will intrude, and will have to worry about blowing a fuse or a fire.”

The neighbors say they’ve been trying to reach out to multiple local officials for help, but no success so far, they say. “We reached out to the City Commissioner, we reached out to the Mayor, we reached out to the City of Apopka, we reached out to Orange County, everybody is just passing the bucket,” said Jones.

Read: Wolfbranch Estates residents in Sorrento blame nearby subdivision for making Milton flooding worse

Channel 9 reached out to Orange County for comment Tuesday evening:

“While we appreciate you reaching out, we cannot get you an answer until we research this case. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to meet your tight deadline. We will make sure this request gets our full attention on Wednesday.”

On Wednesday the county provided the following statement:

Border Lake, which is within the City of Apopka and in Seminole County’s jurisdiction, backflowed into Orange County’s street drainage system. This water overwhelmed a County pond and spilled over the south bank into the adjacent wetland and unnamed lake at the west end of Wekiva Village Lane.

Piedmont Lake, also within the City of Apopka’s jurisdiction, is backflowing into the County’s street drainage system and continues to flow to the same County pond, which is already overtopping the bank.

Orange County Stormwater Management had an internal meeting this morning, and staff is working on a potential solution we will recommend to the City of Apopka by the end of today.

—  Stormwater Management Division

Neighbors now hope the county will address their concerns.

“Help us. If this was in your yard, you’d be something about it,” said Barrick. “This is our most important investment. This is our home. Do something.”

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