ORLANDO, Fla. – Floodwaters struck the United Against Poverty center in Orlando after heavy rains drenched the area.
Videos posted by the center show water still filling the parking lot and pouring into the building.
Anjali Vaya, the executive director of United Against Poverty, described the situation after receiving an urgent call from the store manager on Sunday evening.
“So it was around 4, 4:30 (p.m.) yesterday, and the store manager called, ‘Anjali, there is water coming in from everywhere,’” Vaya said.
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The flooding occurred after a downpour hit the area near West Michigan Street and South Orange Avenue. Vaya initially suspected the newly repaired roof was leaking.
“I’m thinking, ‘Oh, darn it, it’s that roof, and they just completed the work on Friday,’” Vaya said. “No, again, in five minutes, he called back and said he thinks this is coming from the parking lot and into the building. And I said, ‘What do you mean into the building?’ He said, ‘The entire parking lot is starting to surge.’”
Staff quickly closed the facility, and on Monday morning, they began the cleanup process.
Vaya expressed concern over what might have caused the flooding in the first place, noting that such an incident had never happened in the center’s 22-year history.
“I’m just wondering what’s happening in the community. If this has happened to me, is this an infrastructure issue?” Vaya said. “I’m so scared. I’m so scared. I have no answers as to why this happened.”
Anyone willing to volunteer in the cleanup is asked to meet at the United Against Poverty Orlando center located at 150 W. Michigan Street at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
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