ORLANDO, Fla. — Residents from Downtown Orlando, Wadeview Park, Delaney Park and surrounding areas are outraged.
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They say the city’s drainage system has not been able to deal with the rainfall Orlando has faced in recent weeks.
“The damage is extensive, and it includes irreplaceable family memories,” said Stephen Harrison, a homeowner whose house was flooded during the Labor Day Weekend. “Since 2000, Florida has been impacted by 76 tropical or subtropical storms. But our neighborhood has never experienced flooding of this magnitude. Neighbors who have lived here for over 20 years confirm that not even Hurricane Irma caused this kind of level of flooding to our streets. Something needs to be done.”
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Channel 9 visited Harrison’s home just days after that flooding.
Their family had just moved to their new house in the area near Delaney Park literally about one month before that massive flooding.
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They say they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. On Tuesday, he was joined by many other residents with similar problems to speak before the Mayor and City Commissioners.
Public Works also addressed the concerns as soon as that public comment session ended.
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They did refer to the flooding concerns in the area and spoke about the structure of the drainage system.
“We are truly sorry for those of you who experienced a rainfall event like we had,” said Corey Knight, Director of Public Works. “It was a tremendous rainfall event over a short period of time. We think it was just an over-taxation of what the system could handle.”
Residents also brought up concerns about the Delaney Park Development Project, blaming that project for the ongoing flooding issues. The City of Orlando says it is working with its staff to address the concerns.
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