EDGEWATER, Fla. – The residents of Edgewater, especially in the Florida Shores neighborhood, are preparing for more flooding as Hurricane Milton is projected to roar through Central Florida later this week.
Florida Shores has been an ongoing battle recently as properties have been taking on access water from even small storms.
Residents have been demanding action as the city looks for a solution.
Before Milton even became a storm, Mayor Diezel DePew told News 6 that the city was going to declare a state of emergency because of the ongoing flooding. Now, he said, they’re switching gears from long-term recovery to do what they can to prevent severe flooding from the oncoming hurricane.
“They’re making sure everything is flowing correctly; they’re cutting down trees on top of roadways to make sure we’re not going to have that problem in high wind. They’re making sure culverts are flowing and they’re going to homes to make sure there’s no canal washouts,” he said. “We have two 8-inch pumps that are going out at Duck Lake and creating an outfall in retention areas that do not typically have an outfall to get to the lagoon.”
DePew told News 6 on Monday that the city will still declare a state of emergency, in addition to the governor’s declaration for the hurricane.
“We’re going to declare a state of emergency for our water management here. So it’ll get open eyes from the state officials to realize we have a real problem here within our city and we need help,” he said.
Many residents in the Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach area are just getting back on their feet, too, from Hurricane Ian’s historic flooding two years ago.
“We got tarps and flashing tape to seal off around the sliders that way. Tape, plastic and sandbags,” said resident Nick Perry, whose home flooded during the 2022 storms.
“After surviving a flood with Ian, and worried about Nicole, I have to prep because if I don’t it would be another disaster I just don’t want to deal with,” he said.