Residents prepare for flooding as St. Johns River rises

Families are still recovering from past storms in Seminole County, now facing weeks of rising rivers too. Thanks for joining us at six. I'm Jack Royer. Good evening, everybody. I'm Luanne Sorrell. Emergency crews say the worst is yet to come. Stephanie Buffamanti spoke with people in Seminole County today preparing for more flooding. We are here in Geneva and you can see there is already water in this person's driveway. And the big concern here is that it's expected to get worse before it gets better. With the St. Johns River flowing north, Anything happens south of me, it's going to come by me. So I've been watching the slow rise of the river. And that's why John Carter, who lives along Lake Harney, set up all of these sandbags around his camper. This is what I call my breakwater. It's water. I didn't build it to prevent flooding. What I did is I built it because of the wave action. I wanted to try to keep the erosion down to a minimum. Hurricane Ian destroyed his Seminole County home in 2022. He had to demolish it and is still working on rebuilding. He says residents are feeling flashbacks as they wait for the St. John's River to crest. I have other neighbors that stayed and rebuilt and they're really nervous because, you know, you put all that money and effort. Into rebuilding and then the river comes again. The division manager with Seminole County Emergency Management is urging people to prepare and watch the water levels. They anticipate the St. John's River will crest in the end of November and don't expect the water to recede until well into December. The rain that hit Brevard County will take its time to work through the St. John's River up to Seminole County as far as cresting in In the Sanford area and Lake Harney area as far out as the 20th of November all the way through the 23rd. Seminole County has several locations open. Just make sure you bring a shovel and maybe a friend if you need some help lifting all of your sandbags. But it is up and ready for you if you want to protect your home or your property. We'll send it back to you.