ORANGE CITY, Fla. – It has been more than a month since Hurricane Milton hit Central Florida and one city said the flooding nightmare is still not over.
Roads are still blocked off in some areas and motorists are making detours through residents’ front yards.
“I noticed that the tracks started coming further up. You can see there’s a couple tracks here where they go straight through the yard,” said Orange City resident Michael Demeter.
News 6 received security video of several people driving through Demeter’s front yard to avoid barricades set up by Orange City officials to block off Graves Avenue.
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One video here shows a car plowing through the barricades.
“We put up these chains, a police officer put up this crime scene tape. We’ve tried everything,” Demeter said.
Orange City Resident Adam Hermanus-Barnard told News 6 that people move the barricades to get through.
“Yes that has happened five times a day every day since the flooding and they’ve gone through that guys yard multiple times,” Hermanus-Barnard said.
Neighbors say Graves Avenue has been blocked off since Hurricane Milton hit.
“It makes my commute up to work a bit longer. I have to go out and around to get to I-4. Normally I would just shoot straight up, but it takes way longer now,” said Sabrina Cox.
The roadway and several homes nearby are still experiencing flooding.
The lingering effects of Hurricane Milton can still be seen across the town, including a massive hole on Monastery Road.
“The city did tell me that originally that they believe Graves Avenue is compromised. If vehicles continue to drive through it, it’s gonna do the same thing that happened there,” Demeter said.
Demeter said he just wants the nightmare to end.
“I really think if they posted somebody here it’s not gonna hinder their response time to an emergency because it’s literally right down the road. Just have somebody sit here. I’m telling you it will stop them,” Demeter said.
Neighbors said they haven’t heard of the city’s plans to address the situation or how long it will take to fix the roadways.
We reached out to the mayor and city council members about these issues but haven’t heard back.
A few weeks ago, Orange City leaders held a meeting to discuss their plan to restore normalcy after Hurricane Milton, focusing mainly on debris removal.
This Tuesday, Orange City officials will hold another meeting to discuss plans for repairing washed-out roads. While the specifics are not yet known, it appears that Graves Avenue may be part of the discussion.
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