SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – With all the rain expected this week, people around Central Florida are taking precautions.
Although the rain is a cool relief from the sweltering heat, Operations Chief Aaron Funk with Seminole County Emergency Management said it could cause some issues over the next few days.
“If too much comes down too quickly, you have heavy rainfall in a short amount of time — that can cause areas of what we call localized flooding that can be exacerbated in certain conditions if we haven’t seen rainfall in a certain amount of time,” Funk said.
Resident who live in the Shadow Bay community in Longwood are gearing up with sandbags.
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“Our HOA kind of brought it out here preemptively because of all the forecasts for the immense amount of rain we’re supposed to have this week,” resident John Weston said. “It’s mostly just in the street toward the entrances. Like I said, the drainage is awful.”
The poor drainage has forced some people to drive through high water. Weston recalled a time when the water came up to one-third of his tire.
“Luckily, we haven’t had it in our houses yet, but I know, like, a lot people are worried for, like, hurricane season this year that it might eventually get to that point,” Weston said.
Funk shared some tips for how to navigate the rain this week.
“Cleaning out your gutters, making sure those are appropriately able to funnel water away from your home,” Funk said.
Funk also suggests tipping over flower pots or other objects that fill up with water to prevent the formation of a mosquito breeding ground.
He said that because heavy rain can cause pools of water in the road, drivers need to be careful.
He emphasized that driving through bodies of water can stall vehicles and leave the driver and passengers in danger.
“It’s a good preview of what we could see this hurricane season. Hopefully, we do not see significant impact in Central Florida, but it is predicted to be a significant and active hurricane season, so we always (want to) make sure that we’re prepared,” Funk said.
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