Hurricane Ian: Orlando’s lakes overflow after storm’s deluge
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Orlando was doused with “historic flooding,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said during a briefing Thursday, and could have standing water in neighborhoods throughout the city for days.
Flooding was reported in nearly every pocket of Orlando, from famed Lake Eola Park to downtown neighborhoods like Delaney Park and Lake Davis, to College Park and west to Carver Shores and Richmond Heights.
More than 14 inches of rain was dumped on the city from Hurricane Ian, and more could be coming as the system moves off the coast and brings more bands of rain into the region Thursday evening.
“Unfortunately, the only way the water is going to recede is naturally,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said. “We need to be patient and let the water recede.”
“We had so much rain over the course of the last month that the ground was already saturated…the water has to go somewhere, and unfortunately places it would naturally go are also overrun.”
The flooding is a far different challenge than when Hurricane Charley blasted Orlando in 2004. That storm, Dyer said, toppled 10,000 trees compared with only 49 reported down in roadways so far from Hurricane Ian.
Crews will begin picking up debris around the city Friday and residential trash pickup will begin again on Saturday, he said.
The days-long torrential downpours are also taxing Orlando’s wastewater system, and residents should conserve water by turning off sprinkler systems and limiting dishwashing, laundry and other chores.
Emergency crews were active throughout the storm, Fire Chief Charles Salazar said, rescuing more than 250 people. He said 91 were rescued from a flood at Maxwell Terrace Apartments off West Colonial Drive, and 175 at Dockside At Ventura Condos off Curry Ford Road.
Crews also battled a fire on East Marks Street, which was “complicated because the water was waist-level high,” Salazar said.
In parts of the city, cooped-up residents have begun to venture out to assess the damage, but city officials are urging them to stay home.
“Residents should continue to shelter in place to allow for rescue and recovery crews to work,” Salazar said.
One place downtown residents have been scoping is Lake Eola Park, where water crested in the lake, overtaking sidewalks and flowing into Robinson Street. The park’s famous residents, the flock of swans, were seen swimming in their temporarily expanded territory on nearby streets.
“They’re going to be fine,” City Commissioner Patty Sheehan said. “As soon as the waters recede we’ll herd them back into the park. But they’re swimming on Robinson Street.”
Sheehan said nearby neighborhoods like Lake Como were hit hard, while adjacent lakes Davis and Cherokee both overflowed and became one on brick-laden neighborhood streets. She wasn’t aware of water making its way into homes around the lakes.
City Commissioner Bakari Burns said neighborhoods in his southwest Orlando district like Carver Shores, Richmond Heights and Isles of Catalina had flooded streets. One person said there was a tree that fell on a home, which city crews were being dispatched to remove.
“We’ve just been telling people to stay inside,” Burns said.
In the College Park area water levels are high, Commissioner Robert Stuart said.
A major washout was reported at Lake Ivanhoe, and streets around Lakes Silver and Adair flooded as well, he said.
“In many senses, we dodged a bullet. But at the same time, we never anticipated this much water damage,” he said. “We’ll know better by Saturday or Sunday what the assessment is.”
