Seminole County braces for Helene as flooding fears rise

SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA – Seminole County is particularly concerned about the imminent arrival of Hurricane Helene because it is still recovering from flooding in parts of the city.

“A single drop of water will only make already dangerous conditions worse,” said Alan Harris, Seminole County emergency management director.

Sandbag stations are up and running. FOX 35 crews saw many people filling them up Tuesday. However, many others said they didn’t know a storm was coming.

“I didn’t know this storm was going to be this bad and this big,” Maggie Cintron, who lives in Longwood, told FOX 35. “I guess I better be prepared, huh.”

That’s the problem for many people: This storm kind of took us by surprise.

“They usually surprise you,” said Jonathan Kraus, who lives in a lower flood zone in Winter Springs, “but most of the time we stay well informed.

In Longwood, residents of the Shadow Bay community said a neighbor filled a drain pipe with cement, forcing them to prepare for flooding at any time.

“Sandbags are now part of the landscape here,” Cintron said.

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In Sanford, public works crews spent Tuesday clearing out culverts and retention ponds, cleaning drains and just trying to make sure the water had somewhere to go.

Sanford Public Works Director Brynt Johnson told FOX 35 there are some areas of concern for the city.

“Residents along Lake Monroe should watch for rising lake levels after the storm, with older Mayfair neighborhoods being the most vulnerable. Residents who live along canals, lakes, and other waterways should be mindful of preparedness during the storm. Otherwise, we recommend that anyone in a low-lying area that has experienced flooding in the past prepare.”

Winter Springs Utilities said they are also monitoring some low-lying areas. Right now, Winter Springs Public Information Officer Matt Reeser said they are in storm mode.

“In storm mode, everybody goes out and we start by hitting the hot spots and then we work our way out to the rest of the city, just to make sure the pipes are clean and the water is going to flow when it needs to,” Reeser said.

Seminole County’s emergency management director told FOX that 35 days after the steady rains earlier this month, the ground was already saturated and rivers and lakes were already full.

“The problem with this particular storm is there’s no capacity,” Harris said. “All of our retention ponds are almost full. Our river is just below intervention stage.”

Seminole County Emergency Management is in “Level 2 Activation.”

Level 3 simply means monitoring things. Level 1 means all hands on deck. This is a partial activation.

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