The devastation caused by Hurricane Ian is still being felt in Central Florida one week after the storm passed through the region.
The area around the St. Johns River is still seeing serious flooding. The amount of water present is decreasing in some regions while it is somewhat increasing in others.
Along the St. Johns River in Astor, DeLand, and Sanford, as well as Lake Harney, people have reported feeling it as of Friday morning.
The most recent measurement of the water level in Astor was 4.38 feet. When the water level reaches 2.3 feet there is flooding.
The neighbourhood is all too acquainted with flooding, although the water levels haven’t necessarily been this high in recent times.
The flooding that these residents experienced in 2017 during Hurricane Irma was likewise greater than four feet in depth.
Now, Ian has eclipsed that record’s previous accomplishment.
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To put things into perspective, the damage that Irma did was approximately $2.4 million. Officials do not yet have an estimate ready for how much Ian will set them back.
However, Dr H. Bobby Fokidis, a professor of biology at Rollins College, stated that floods were to be expected to some degree.
“We had a lot of surface water flooding, you know, really intensive rainfall, and we had a lot of rain before, so a lot of rivers and everything,” Fokidis said. “We had a lot of rain before, so a lot of rivers and stuff.”
“And ponds were already dangerously near to overflowing. Because of this additional burst of rain that made it appear as though it never stopped falling, obviously, you’ve got something like a flash flood kind of situation.
There is a possibility that the water levels here will reach four and a half feet by tomorrow. The record is 4.6, although officials from the county report that it was surpassed days after Ian hit.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) stated yesterday that preparations are currently underway for an “extensive effort” to re-establish high-water markers across the state after Hurricane Ian. One of these locations is right here in Astor.
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