A week after Hurricane Milton tore through the region, Apopka residents are coping with surging floodwaters and the resulting complications, with some neighborhoods, such as Wekiva Village, witnessing continuous rises in water levels threatening their homes. Amber Barrick, one Apopka resident, described the alarming rate at which the water encroached on their property, "As of Friday, we were measuring the water, and it was coming in at an inch an hour. So things really picked up quickly," she said, per My News 13. Amber Barrick has since had to vacate her home, detailing the transformation of her backyard into a treacherous mix of wildlife and unclean water.
Local authorities, including the City of Apopka, Orange, and Seminole Counties, are struggling to find immediate solutions to both the flooding and spillover from Lake Piedmont that has overwhelmed local drainage systems and caused power outages this cooperative effort was highlighted by Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore, who was detailed by FOX 35 Orlando stating "it’s leading to five different jurisdictions sitting down with us and trying to find a resolution."
Despite the efforts, residents remain frustrated with the pace of response, as ongoing inundation has forced electricity shut down in some areas due to safety concerns regarding transformers and wastewater systems. Apopka's Mayor Bryan Nelson addressed these concerns, noting the city's actions: "So we are taking a little over 3 million gallons of storm water and processing it at our wastewater treatment plant. So we are taking water out of this area and taking it over to our plant on Cleveland Street," Nelson explained, according to My News 13, acknowledging that the current strategies are only temporary and a long-term solution is yet to be found.
Having brought up the flooding issue at a recent city council meeting, Barrick expressed a deep sense of disappointment due to inaction from local authorities before the storm, stating, "If it’s going to cost millions of dollars to fix this — who is going to buy our homes? Like we can’t just move and this is a problem that has to be fixed and it was a failure of local government, unfortunately," she said in a statement cited by My News 13. The situation remains dire as families await a feasible timeline for when they can return to normalcy, with concerns about property damage, wildlife, and health risks running high.
