ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – Volusia County leaders are trying to help raise seven homes off the ground to prevent storm flooding.
The seven homes have been flooded by hurricanes at least five times, including last year when Hurricane Irma hit Florida, according to documents submitted to Volusia County commissioners.
Part of the money to raise the houses would come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the form of a grant, and Volusia County Emergency Management is seeking approval to apply for it.
One of the homes impacted belongs to Bruce and Lisa Chiarizzi.
"My wife said there’s water in the living room, so I’m running around with a towel," Bruce Chiarizzi said. "When I looked out the sliders, there was 10 inches of water. I looked like I was in a fish tank."
He said the flooding was so bad on his street after Irma hit, a neighbor canoed down the roadway, and the home across from them was abandoned. It's now slated to be torn down.
The FEMA grant, if approved, would pay $75,000 for every $100,000 of cost to raise Chiarizzi's home off the ground, removing the threat of damage from floodwaters.
The grant application is expected to ask for more than $2 million to raise his home and six others that have seen reccurring flooding.
It's process that, if approved, would take at least six months to complete.
"We’re gonna have to live somewhere else," Lisa Chiarizzi said.
She said it's a small price to pay if it means she and her family can stay in a place they've come to call home.
"We’re going to raise up, though, and stay there," Lisa Chiarizzi said. "You can’t beat it. It’s wonderful."
This is not a quick fix, she added.
The couple won't know until next year when construction will begin, and that means another hurricane season and the possibility of more flooding.
Volusia County commissioners are slated to vote on the application to FEMA at their July 10 meeting.
