‘It’s bad, but it’s not over yet’: Officials warn about widespread flooding in Seminole County

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Communities across Central Florida are slowly coming back to normal after hurricane Milton tore through our area last week.

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However, while for some the worst is gone, for others, there’s still a lot of headaches on the way.

“It’s bad, but it’s not over yet,” said Scott Flynn, a Seminole County resident, as he showed his driveway in Geneva. “Yesterday there was still a road here, now it’s gone.”

Channel 9 was there as Flynn rescued a boat that was dragged by floodwaters onto his backyard.

Read: Rising St. Johns River causes flooding concerns in Seminole, Volusia, Lake counties

According to residents, the area was heavily impacted by Hurricane Ian, and now they will have to deal with more damage.

“I did expect it to get flooded, I just didn’t know it was going to be this bad,” said Lucy Deaton, who moved to Whitcomb Drive about a month ago. “I’m still cleaning up from the people that were here, like two years ago. They left a mess, but Ian destroyed it for them. They just never cleaned it up, so I get to clean it up now.”

According to the county, the Saint John’s River flows very slowly from South to North, leaving roads completely flooded.

Read: Cold front moves in this week, tropics remain active

“All of those places, those creeks, those tributaries, all feed to the Saint John’s River and then up to Jacksonville, out to the Atlantic Ocean. When it gets into the St Johns River, the St John’s River swells as it moves north,” said Allen Harris, Emergency Manager for Seminole County. “Unfortunately, it’s just the way the land topography is.”

To help residents deal with the flooding and all the disruptions caused by it, the county put up several stations with bathrooms and laundry rooms.

“We have washer/dryers, all kinds of things for individuals that may be in flood prone areas,” said Harris. “On top of the two facilities and the sandbag locations, we have temporary dumpsters that we place on the end of roads that are flooded. That way, if people go back, they have some garbage or things they’d like to throw away, they come out and dispose them there.”

Those stations will be up and running for as long as necessary, along with the sandbag locations. The county does not expect the river to crest until Sunday.

Read: Here’s how Hurricane Milton impacted gasoline supplies and prices in Central Florida

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