Hundreds of Daytona's Midtown residents still out of their flood-damaged homes

DAYTONA BEACH — Drive through the Midtown neighborhood, and you won't see too many obvious remnants of September's Tropical Storm Ian and its unrelenting rain that had the urban core community swimming in four feet of floodwater.

Blue tarps are still stretched across some roofs, but most curbside piles of flood-soaked carpet, mattresses and couches have been hauled off.

It looks like things are back to normal for most people, but they're not. Plenty of misery lingers in the impoverished community between Nova Road and Ridgewood Avenue.

About 100 Mainland High School students and 70 Campbell Middle School students, many who called Midtown home before the murky floodwaters poured in four months ago, are homeless now. Hundreds of Midtown residents have been staying in hotels, relatives' homes and temporary rental units as they try to navigate the complexities of insurance and government assistance.

"It's not a crisis that has gone away," Mayor Derrick Henry said at last week's City Commission meeting. "Many are continuing to live that crisis."

The storm refugees are draining what little money they have to keep a roof over their heads while their damaged houses sit empty.

On Monday night, about 75 of those residents gathered inside the century-old Mount Bethel Baptist Church on Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulevard. They shared their stories and connected with officials from the city and Federal Emergency Management Agency who are equipped to help.

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Residents were able to ask questions and vent their frustrations. But first they spent an hour listening to FEMA officials who explained the type of assistance they can provide, and a few city officials who shared what they've done and still plan to do to help.

Federal dollars flowing in for Ian and Nicole victims

More than $176 million in federal funding has been distributed to Volusia County victims of last fall's tropical storms. That includes $83.1 million in grants given to Volusia County homeowners and renters who suffered losses, and $93.2 million in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster loans approved for 1,466 homeowners, renters and businesses.

For Tropical Storm Ian, 28,997 Volusia County homeowners and renters have been approved for $81.3 million in federal grants through FEMA's Individuals and Households Program. The funds are being used for home repair, home replacement, rental assistance, essential household items and other critical disaster-related expenses.

For Tropical Storm Nicole, so far 578 homeowners and renters have been approved for $1.8 million in federal grants through FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program.

The city has given $933,933 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to 173 Daytona Beach households struggling with damage from Tropical Storm Ian and Tropical Storm Nicole, City Manager Deric Feacher said at Monday's meeting. Households can get up to $9,000 each.

The city is also helping businesses that suffered losses in the two storms, and so far 42 businesses have applied for help. No money has been given out yet to the businesses, but those chosen for the city assistance will each get $3,000 from the city's share of ARPA funds.

The city is also offering $1,000 landscape grants.

Henry told the people gathered in the Mount Bethel sanctuary that he drove around with the city manager and police chief after Tropical Storm Ian deluged Daytona Beach, and he watched as people were rescued out of flooded homes.

"We're committed to finding solutions and giving money to help," the mayor said. "We're turning over every stone we can to find the resources to help with your future."

Henry said Midtown flooding is a decades-old problem that needs to be remedied as much as possible.

"It is my hope much more will be done to address it," he said.

Ian clears out Daytona public housing complex

Before Tropical Storm Ian struck Volusia County, there were 86 families living in Caroline Village. Now no one is staying in the complex of one-story buildings owned by the Daytona Beach Housing Authority.

Caroline Village sits in one of the lowest areas of Midtown, and the small multi-family homes suffered nearly $2 million worth of water and wind damage.

Residents have all been temporarily relocated in apartments, hotels and family members' homes. More than 30 Caroline Village families are in hotels, and the bill for them and their neighbors now staying in apartments has soared past $460,000, said Charles Woodyard, CEO of the Daytona Beach Housing Authority.

The running tab for all of that temporary housing grows by about $5,000 to $8,000 per day, Woodyard said Monday night.

Woodyard's plan is to repair Caroline Village, move people back into the 100 units, and then look for a site where he can build new housing. He plans to close Caroline Village if he can create new homes for Housing Authority tenants.

"I don't think it's prudent to spend a lot of money if flooding is not addressed," he said.

The city is not in the midst of any new flood mitigation projects, but it hopes to be as soon as possible. The first goal is to convince the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do a thorough study of Daytona Beach's flooding problems to zero in on causes and possible solutions.

City officials will be sending a letter to Washington, D.C., requesting the Corps study be done, Feacher said. Daytona Beach residents impacted by flooding can sign the letter.

Another letter will be sent to Tallahassee requesting that state legislators support Daytona Beach's request for federal funding for flood mitigation, he said. The city will also set aside some money for the Army Corps study, he said.

Even if federal funding doesn't come through for a big overhaul project, if the study is done then the city can see what sort of smaller measures it could take as money allows each year, Feacher said.

Residents vent their frustrations

City Commissioner Paula Reed, whose zone includes Midtown, said the meeting was held to find out how residents are doing.

"We don't want to sweep it under the rug," Reed said.

A resident who lives on Madison Avenue said the flooding around her home has been getting worse and worse since the 1970s. She theorizes that the problem is new development built at higher elevations around her neighborhood is causing water to flow down into her lower-lying community.

Another woman said she recalls floodwater coming close to houses in November of 2021 when there was no tropical storm pushing through. She asked why the city didn't take more dramatic action after that.

"It was evident it was going to be a problem," she said.

Feacher responded that chronic flooding is nothing new, and the city has been working on it for years. The challenge is moving water out of the bowl-like area in the city's center.

"We don't have the hundreds of millions to fix it," he said.

Feacher said it's ultimately a regional problem that will take several east Volusia County cities working together.

Cynthia Slater, president of the Daytona Beach branch of the NAACP, has lived the same flooding nightmare other Midtown residents have. She woke up to floodwater rising around her home in the neighborhood during Tropical Storm Ian and fled in her car.

She's been living with relatives in Jacksonville in the four months since. It's the fourth time her Kottle Circle home has flooded in the few decades she has lived there.

"This has been a journey for all of us," Slater told the group.

After the storms Slater contemplated moving, but she has since decided to stay and fight for the improvements the neighborhood needs.

Storm victims looking for federal assistance can call 1-800-621-3362. Anyone who has storm debris that still needs to be picked up can call Waste Pro at 386-788-8890.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Hundreds of Daytona Beach flood victims still out of their homes