ASTOR, Fla. – The effects of Hurricane Milton are still being felt in several Central Florida communities.
In Lake County and other areas, residents are seeing record highs along the St. Johns River. Although some areas are already in major flood stage, water levels are expected to rise further this week.
What you need to know
- Flooding has inundated Astor and a mobile home park in Lake County
- Fifteen shelters have opened to house about 1,700 people in Lake County, officials said
- Residents of the Emerald Lakes Mobile Home Park have been voluntarily evacuated, Clermont police say
- Emerald Lakes Park is connected to the Clermont Chain of Lakes, while Astor is on the St. Johns River
15 shelters were opened for about 1,700 evacuees in Lake County, and officials said at this time they expect about $10 million in damage in Lake County. However, that number could double or even triple once all the water recedes and areas currently inaccessible can be surveyed, officials said.
“As a result of the storm, the St. Johns River at Astor reached an all-time high of 5 feet,” said Megan Milanese, Lake County Emergency Management Director. “Unfortunately, the water is not receding anytime soon, so we do expect levels to remain high for the foreseeable future.”
The boat ramps are still closed, which is hurting the local economy as every business here depends on the fishing tourism that the river brings. Now we have to wait while the water level drops.
It’s a situation that affects not only James Powell, owner of the Powell Campground in Astor, but the entire community that depends on fishing tourism.
“We can’t rent the cabins; we can’t rent the docks and other people in town can’t do anything either. At the very least, it will likely have a major impact on the economy for six to eight weeks,” Powell said. “I think this is what we’re in [for]. I think this is the new normal.”
Lake County has also implemented the Astor Watch program. They have opened a Comfort Atation on the Butler Street boat ramp, where residents can do laundry, shower and charge their electronics.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office also has a mobile command center where they protect affected areas.
Many are voluntarily evacuating from the Clermont community
In Clermont, many from the Emerald Lakes community voluntarily evacuated their homes Sunday due to excess water, the city’s police department said.
The project consists of 211 individual homes, including Emerald Lakes Co-op, a 60-home lakeside mobile home park connected to the Clermont Chain of Lakes.
The evacuations came after Hurricane Milton brought hours of persistent rainfall.
Power to the mobile home park has been shut off and police will patrol regularly to monitor water levels, Clermont police said.
Clermont Fire Chief David Ezell says some residents needed their help to get out safely.
“We were here yesterday in consultation with the police and with our public services department. And we helped about 14 different households evacuate the community,” Ezell said.
Ken Cook, president of the homeowners association, has been busy walking through high tides to get back and forth from homes since Hurricane Milton.
Cook lives on a peninsula in the Emerald Lakes Mobile Home Park, where residents were urged to evacuate.
“It’s been steadily increasing since we came back,” Cook said. “I told the other residents that I think we have to move.”
Cook said they are dealing with recent heavy rains from hurricanes, saturated ground and higher than normal lake flows into the area.
“Normally the lake level here is about 100 feet. This morning it was 98:44. So that’s what we’re fighting against,” Cook said.
Most residents have been evacuated and have retreated to shelters, hotels or staying with friends and family.
