21 homes have been evacuated in one Lake County, Florida community after a bridge was deemed unsafe due to recent flooding. Accuweather's Leslie Hudson speaks with neighbors impacted by the situation
00:00EvacuWeathers, Leslie Hudson joins us live from Eustis, Florida, where nearly two dozen families remained evacuated this morning after a culvert collapse related to the record flooding, Leslie.
00:13You know, it just wasn't in a large area, but it was a focused band of rain, and boy, did it cause problems.
00:21It really did, Bernie. Good morning to you.
00:23Yeah, it is a very different scenario here this morning compared to when I was here yesterday because last night there was an emergency approval for a resolution to get this culvert fixed sooner than later because it's still considered an emergency.
00:38But it's such an unusual situation because where I am now is in Eustis, Florida, which is inland in the interior part of the state.
00:45But 65 miles to the east, where I was earlier this week along the Space Coast, also had epic flooding and substantial damage and flood damage in multiple homes, over 100 homes in that area, all from that one big rain event on October 26.
01:03So here in Eustis, as you mentioned, this has forced at least two dozen families out of their homes because the emergency officials cannot drive over this culvert to get to the homes if, God forbid, there was a fire or there was some type of medical rescue.
01:18So those homeowners have been evacuated for almost two weeks.
01:22This Sunday, it'll be two weeks, and they still will be out this coming Sunday.
01:25But the race is on to try and get this culvert repaired because rain is in the forecast this weekend as that well-advertised cold front comes through Florida.
01:35There is not the anticipation of a lot of rain, but the system here, very much vulnerable and very compromised.
01:41So let me show you some of that video from October 26.
01:44Now, this is when all the rain started in parts of Eustis, Florida.
01:48Now, there was a flash flood emergency, which is pretty rare for interior Florida.
01:54That would usually happen along the coast when a tropical storm or a hurricane is coming in.
01:59But because there was almost 20 inches of rain that fell in just about six hours' span, it overflowed the storm drains.
02:07And this culvert system here in Eustis collapsed and, again, immobilized multiple families.
02:13And the concern is, can they get this repaired in the time before rain becomes another issue?
02:20Now, the folks here that live in this community, it's called Spring Estates.
02:25This is a private community, a gated community.
02:27So there is an HOA, and they are responsible for the culvert.
02:31The tricky part in all of this is underneath that culvert are city pipes and city infrastructure.
02:37So the city has stepped up and has fronted the money to repair this culvert.
02:43They're fronting the HOA about $500,000 to get this culvert repaired because they're concerned that if there is more compromise,
02:51that then they could have to evacuate over 100 more families from this area because it would be deemed just too structurally unsafe.
03:00So they approved that last night in an emergency resolution to get the ball rolling, and they started working last night.
03:07They have been working through the night to get this culvert repaired.
03:10And even though it is underway, homeowners here are still quite nervous about what's going on.
03:16We've been dealing with not only this big deluge, but years we've been having to pump water out of our backyard out to the street.
03:27The biggest concern is that these pumps that we've got going can keep up with the water and divert it all so that it won't go flowing under the bridge again.
03:37We've got 128 homes and we've got 21 on this block.
03:41We're hoping, with the city's help, that the infrastructure that goes under the bridge can be held stable so that nobody else has to evacuate because there's a lot of fear there.
03:53So as we mentioned, the deluge that hit Lake County is the same system that flooded out the Space Coast over in Titusville,
04:03which underscores that there is a regional problem here in central Florida when culverts and neighborhoods are overwhelmed with heavy rain and communities can be cut off in a matter of minutes.
04:13The families here in the community say they are trying to juggle work, school, medication.
04:17Many of the homeowners here have pets, and not all of the shelters that are accommodating these folks take pets.
04:23So the folks are having to walk in on foot.
04:25There is one partial opening here on the sidewalk where you can walk in, check on your house, check on your pets if you have them here.
04:33But again, the city council here in use is approving this repair job.
04:39The city engineer, I talked to him yesterday.
04:41They think that it's going to take about two weeks.
04:44I'm going to step out of the way so you guys can see it a little better.
04:46About two weeks to get this all done.
04:49And so it's really good to see all of that gravel on the ground that was piled up on top of the culvert yesterday.
04:55So they're moving around the clock.
04:57I don't know if they'll be quicker than two weeks to get this done.
05:00But, of course, they are trying to get this resolved sooner than later because if this does not get fixed and they get another heavy rain,
05:07we're talking about over 125 families that would have to move out of this community and really put this part of Eustis in a very vulnerable position.
05:15Reporting live from Eustis, Florida, I'm Leslie Hudson.
05:17Back to you.
05:18Leslie, we appreciate you updating us on the situation.
05:20I'm sure you'll continue to have updates as construction continues.
Be the first to comment