Hurricane Ian: Orlo Vista floods again, drawing National Guard response
Living in Orlo Vista 21 years, David Phillips is accustomed to high water.
Storms from hurricanes Charley, Jeanne, Frances, Irma, Matthew and some he can’t remember have all left their water marks in the working class neighborhood south of West Colonial Drive.
But Ian dropped a doozy deluge.
“Never seen it this high,” said Phillips, 57, huddled with his shivering girlfriend, Tina, wrapped in a blanket, and her mom.
As Hurricane Ian approached, bringing with what experts described as the threat of “historic” flooding, Orlo Vista was among the neighborhoods in Central Florida where officials most feared destruction.
Those fears were realized overnight Wednesday, as the storm’s deluge swamped the neighborhood that has repeatedly been hammered by named storms over the years. The National Guard deployed to the neighborhood, joining local first responders in conducting rescues.
The community, which is south of Pine Hills, was overwhelmed by floodwaters in September 2017 when Irma blew through Central Florida, dumping nearly 10 inches of rain on the community in a span of a day. About 500 homes were evacuated then.
Ahead of Ian’s approach, Joe Kunkel, Orange County’s public works director, said staff had “continually been pumping” water away from the area to increase rainfall capacity. But similar rainfall to what the community experienced during Irma, he said, would be “problematic.”
County officials positioned portable pumps in the area ahead of Ian’s arrival, including near Powers Drive and Silver Star Road in Pine Hills. They were not up to the challenge of the storm’s wrath.
Tim Sedlock, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, said measurements showed Ian deposited 9 to 10 inches of rain in the area of Orlo Vista.
Tina Wainright and her mother Evelyn Wainright said water began flowing into their trailer about 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
As the level in their bedroom rose to about six inches, they packed suitcases and a crate holding their cat, Nina, and waded through thigh-high water to a Fire/Rescue boat that took them to safety.
Orlo Vista’s bad history with powerful storms dates back decades. After the community suffered massive during Hurricane Donna in 1960, the county expanded ponds, dug canals and added pumps. But none of the efforts take over the years have been able to prevent destructive flooding.
During a Tuesday meeting of the Orange County Commission, the community’s district representative, Commissioner Victoria Siplin, suggested evacuating the neighborhood.
“I’m really concerned with my folks in Orlo Vista,” Siplin said. “You know, when Irma hit, they were not prepared to deal with the rainfall we received. And so I think, even though we’re doing what we can, we have to be realistic. I think at some point, we should tell folks in certain areas that they have to evacuate.”
Not everyone would likely have been willing to go. Firefighters conducting rescues on Thursday said some residents of the waterlogged neighborhood were still refusing to leave their homes.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and his wife, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Val Demings, spoke to reporters at the waters’ edge on Thursday. The mayor said he understood why some people refuse to leave.
“This is their home. This is where they’re comfortable,” he said.
Demings said fire/rescue visited the community in the days before the storm and persuaded about 300 people to find temporary alternative accommodations with family, friends or county shelters.
David Phillips’ sister, Jo Gardner, lives in the area but went to stay with friends during the storm, expecting high water again. Because her friend had two dogs and she didn’t have a crate, she left her 10-year-old Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix, Ben, with her brother.
All survived the storm. As rescuers worked to save her neighbors, Gardner cried and kissed Ben.
Despite the regular flooding, Phillips hopes to stay in the community, where he said everyone knows everyone.
”But we’ll see,” he said. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed on this one.”
He and his 16-year-old son, James, and Nina the cat were heading to Phillips’ mom’s house. Tina and her mom, 78, were going to a special needs shelter.
”Our car is toast,” Tina said of the 2018 Ford work van they left in the water in the driveway.
Jeff Weiner of the Sentinel staff contributed.
