Flood waters continue rising in Osceola after Hurricane Ian; commissioner has to be rescued
Flood waters are expected to continue rising for the next four days in Osceola County, Commissioner Brandon Arrington said at a press conference Saturday morning.
“Obviously a lot of us woke up today to different circumstances than we ended our day with yesterday,” Arrington said. “I’m specifically one of those individuals as I had to be rescued from my house this morning in order to be here today.”
There continues to be historic flood water levels across the county and many local and state organizations continued rescue efforts all night Friday across the county, Arrington said.
Due to rising flood waters, there will be a voluntary evacuation order for Shingle Creek Reserve at the Oaks, Arrington said. Osceola County Fire Rescue led the operation to evacuate several people, including Arrington, from the area, a county spokeswoman said.
Areas still experiencing extreme flooding include Shingle Creek, parts of Buenaventura Lakes, Pebble Point and low lying areas of Poinciana.
East Lake Toho water levels could rise another two feet, Arrington said.
“Places that have never experienced flooding are now experiencing flooding,” Arrington said. “I can tell you as a native Osceola County resident I have never seen so much water throughout our community.”
Arrington asked residents living near creeks to evacuate prior to water levels beginning to rise or continuing to rise.
“Please, please look to evacuate” Arrington said.
The Kissimmee Civic Center will serve as the Osceola County shelter and the county recovery center, Arrington said.
In order to combat water entering resident’s homes, sandbag operations will begin Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Osceola Heritage Park and at the St. Cloud Civic Center.
As recovery efforts continue, Arrington said the U.S. Corp of Engineers is on its way to help pump water from the hardest hit areas and the county is working on opening a mass eating center for those needing meals.
The South Florida Water Management District is supporting local drainage systems around the clock to move water through the interconnected Kissimmee chain of lakes system and has deployed temporary pumps to drain these lakes as quickly as possible, spokesperson Sean Cooley said in a statement read by Arrington.
Those wanting to help can donate through osceolareadi.org/donate which will go towards buying specific items needed for those impacted by Hurricane Ian, Arrington said.
