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In multilingual Central Florida, hurricane and flood warnings can go unheard
Gladys Forbe, who speaks Creole but little English, said she had no idea what was coming before Hurricane Ian flooded her home in Orlo Vista near Orlando in 2022.(Joe Byrnes / Central Florida Public Media) Floridians rely on critical information from the government during hurricanes and afterward for help with impacts like flooding. But what if families — like an estimated 39,000 households in Orange County — don't speak English well? Will they get the information they need? Despite some efforts at the local and federal levels, community leaders in Central Florida say that often they do not. Inland flooding National Weather Service predictions chief Greg Carbin said warmer seas, warmer air carrying more moisture, and slower-moving hurricanes carry the promise of even more rainfall and inland flooding. A report published last year by the American Meteorological Society shows freshwater flooding accounted for 57% of deaths caused directly by a U.S. hurricane from 2013 to 2022. Before that, storm surge was the leading direct cause. (For about half of overall hurricane deaths, including traffic fatalities and carbon monoxide poisoning, the storm is considered an indirect cause.) Carbin said rain "can be as deadly if not more deadly than any other hazard associated with a hurricane." Dangers like flooding and storm surge — often far from the center of the storm — are why the National Hurricane Center is changing its forecast cone to focus, not on the track itself, but on potential impacts. This year, with an above-average hurricane season predicted, warnings and other information about those dangers could be a matter of life or death. En inglés, por supuesto The Census Bureau estimates 570,000 Florida households don't speak English well. Most of those speak Spanish. Teresa Chacón is one of those Floridians. During Hurricane Ian, the mother of two girls listened to Spanish broadcasts. Still, she learned what it meant for her family only when, shortly before the storm hit, firefighters visited their mobile home park in Apopka. Teresa Chacón, right, spoke about her experiences during Hurricane Ian, with help form Spanish translator Silvia Ruiz Villanueva at Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka.(Joe Byrnes / Central Florida Public Media) "The firefighters arrived and let us know we had to evacuate," she said, speaking in Spanish, "because, well, it was a high risk zone." The firefighters came and went, handing out flyers. "En inglés, por supuesto," Chacón said. That is to say, the handouts were in English, of course. Fortunately, Chacón's daughter could translate. A failure to reach out to non-English speaking residents in a language they understand before, during and after hurricanes has experts in disaster response, like Claire Knox at the University of Central Florida, scratching their heads. She analyzed the approximately 6,000 tweets from Florida's local emergency managers around Hurricane Irma back in 2017. Half of 1% were in Spanish. "[I]t was shocking," she said, "for us as researchers to see that very few of the tweets were in any language other than English." And half of those Spanish tweets were simply retweets of FEMA posts. Five years later, during Hurricane Ian, 1% were in Spanish. A vulnerable population Knox studies social equity in emergency management — policies that recognize disasters affect different populations differently. Professor Claire Knox is director of UCF's Master in Emergency and Crisis Management Program.(Joe Byrnes / Central Florida Public Media) "So some are going to be more resilient," she said, "and some are not. But a lot of the underlying social issues that are underlying when there's not a disaster, really get amplified." Community leaders say non-English-speaking residents are especially vulnerable because of language and cultural barriers and distrust of the government. The Reverend José Rodriguez, an Episcopal priest and Hispanic leader in Orlando, says hurricane outreach needs to communicate in the language of the impacted person. "So you would have to have culturally competent individuals that can not only translate information, but can transmit it in a way it can be received and understood," Rodriguez said. "Speak to us, as if you were Univision reporting the news," he said, "not CNN or Fox News reporting to their audience. Cater to the audience of Latinos." Rodriguez said faulty assumptions about the Hispanic population — with its diverse nationalities — can lead to distorted messages that cause people to do the opposite of what's needed. For example, he said, it can be hard to truly reach older immigrants who need to evacuate due to flooding — to leave a house that represents the American dream and a legacy for their children. At the Spanish-speaking Episcopal Church of Jesus of Nazareth, Rodriguez said he has had to broadcast a specific message to the seniors they serve: "Your life is worth more than your house." Addressing the problem, or not After Hurricane Ian, the State Emergency Response Team reviewed Florida's performance and found no problem with its public communication, calling it a strength, not an area for improvement. "External communication and public outreach strategies successfully informed the public," according to the after-action report. As for what's online, Florida's emergency management website uses Google Translate to make the pages available in 133 languages but the links to new information often lead to English-only content. Emergency management sites for Orlando and Orange County can also be viewed in Spanish — again often linking to English-only pages. Readers can also see the city website in Portuguese and Haitian Creole. Some officials and nonprofits are focused on the problem. There's legislation moving through Congress to study and test better hurricane communication with older residents, disabled people and non-English speakers. It was sponsored by Democrat Maxwell Frost and Republican Daniel Webster, both of Central Florida. The Biden Administration has made social equity as a top goal. Last month, FEMA announced a targeted campaign in six languages — including Spanish and Creole — with messages about flood risk and flood insurance. And this year for the first time, the National Hurricane Center is providing all its public advisories in Spanish. Federal officials are also testing artificial intelligence to translation weather information in multiple languages. A computer interface allows Orange County's Office of Emergency Management to send alerts in English and Spanish. Coordinator John Mulhall said messages are sent in both languages, though sometimes urgent warnings cannot wait for the translation.(Joe Byrnes / Central Florida Public Media) In Central Florida, some emergency managers are working with nonprofits to reach immigrant communities. For example, division manager Steven Lerner with Seminole County's Office of Emergency Management said the county works with trusted community agents — including local grocery stores — to help Spanish-speaking residents prepare and get resources. The county uses contractors to translate notifications, Lerner said. "Obviously, getting the message into another language doesn't happen as quick as it does in English, but it happens very soon after." Nonprofit outreach Chacón, the Spanish-speaking mom in Apopka, said her family received food, water and other assistance from Hope CommUnity Center during Hurricane Ian. The nonprofit's executive director, Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, says staff and volunteers — including a bunch of teenagers — tried to bridge the communication gap. "[W]e knew that our community, mostly immigrants, did not know the information ... perhaps even didn't know that there was a hurricane coming," Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet said. "And we began calling every one of our program participants." Sousa-Lazaballet said that, for many of them, it was the first time they heard about the hurricane or got information on how to prepare. "That is a common thread really," he said. "When it comes to critical resources, life-saving resources and information that can literally mean somebody gets to live or die, it doesn't reach people who don't speak English as their first language." During the storm, the center posted three phone numbers on social media for questions in Portuguese, Spanish and Creole, and used WhatsApp to reach the immigrant community from Brazil. Sousa-Lazaballet said the center works closely with Orange County and the city of Apopka and is considered a resiliency hub. Sousa-Lazaballet said he thinks the county should employ more immigrants, which might have prevented a miscue during Hurricane Ian, an announcement that IDs were required for sandbags. When that happened, he said, "everybody believed that even shelters were going to ask for IDs. And as you may know, undocumented immigrants are not allowed to get driver's licenses, and people were afraid. So we had to go on a mini-campaign to create information instead of misinformation." No warning Earlier this month, 81-year-old Gladys Forbe sat in her flood-damaged home in Orlo Vista and spoke in Creole — with the help of an interpreter — about her experiences during Hurricane Ian. Speaking in Creole through an interpreter, Gladys Forbe said it was raining when she went to sleep and she woke to find floodwater in her bed.(Joe Byrnes / Central Florida Public Media) That night she had no idea what was coming. Forbe said, she "went to sleep, went to bed, and then all of the sudden water was in the bed." She was rescued through a window and taken away in a boat. Since then, Forbe said she's had no communication from the government, except to cancel her food stamps and Medicaid after her insurance paid out.
In multilingual Central Florida, hurricane and flood warnings can go unheard
Seminole County one of Florida's first to bring kids trauma-informed camp after hurricanes
Kids make paper birds at Project:Camp in Oviedo, Florida.(Danielle Prieur) A pilot program for a special camp in Central Florida A pilot program for a new camp debuted this March at the YMCA in Oviedo. On the last day, kids decorated paper birds, and built boats out of recycled materials. The camp might sound like any other but it's not. At this camp, the first of its kind in Central Florida, all the kids were Hurricane Ian survivors, and they all experienced major damage to their homes. Fifth grader Zamyrah Cruz said she was terrified. Zamyrah Cruz and mom Chala Barrington-Cruz at the Y.(Danielle Prieur) "Our backyard got flooded. And like a ten-foot tall tree fell on a RV. But it didn't hurt anybody. Thank goodness and our pool was high," Cruz said. Zamyrah's mom Chala also recounted that tree falling on their neighbor's home. By the way, Chala says it was actually closer to 20 feet tall and trapped their neighbor inside the RV. "And I look over and I'm watching the tree fall into her house and I'm yelling for her. Mindy, Mindy, are you okay," she said. Chala says if Ian was scary for her, she can only imagine the impact on Zamyrah. The very real problem of childhood trauma after storms According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, primary school-aged kids are at the highest risk for mental health problems after a storm. Some kids will have trouble sleeping, or lash out at school or home. Others will develop depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. The CDC says this storm-related stress can be harder on kids for three reasons: they understand less about what's happening during a storm, they feel less in control of their lives during and after a storm, and they have less experience coping with challenges like hurricanes. This stress can be compounded in children who have already experienced other types of trauma like abuse in the home, or homelessness. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that more than two-thirds of children experienced at least one traumatic event by the time they turn 16 years-old. If left untreated, childhood trauma can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, substance and alcohol abuse, poor academic performance, and more time spent in the juvenile justice system. The good news? There's lots of ways to help someone thrive and survive a childhood marked by trauma, and to help them heal. Kids who can find a sense of purpose, social connections and develop strong problem-solving skills can all build resilience. That's where Project:Camp comes in. Project:Camp to the rescue in Central Florida Project:Camp has been running programs across the country, following natural disasters for almost half a decade. Most recently they were in Maui after the fires there in 2023. Henry Meier is with the organization. He said the pilot program in Seminole County this March was a dry-run in preparation for the real thing this hurricane season. "If the storm were to hit Seminole County, we can pop up a camp in about 48 hours. We have supplies all built out, we've worked with the Seminole County Office of Emergency Management, we've worked with the YMCA of Central Florida, to have all the things we need in place to pop up a trauma-informed camp in 48 hours," Meier said. A whiteboard at Project:Camp in Oviedo, Florida.(Danielle Prieur) Meier said now that the groundwork has been laid, there won't be any delays, even if a hurricane were to close airports and his staff couldn't get to Florida for a few days. "We've done a lot of that work ahead of time to kind of identify potential sites, have those counselors trained up, have all the supplies ready so that when a storm hits we can be set up in that very short window of time," Meier said. He said early intervention is key to better outcomes in kids after storms. "And we have a program that really helps them kind of process through play, process with their peers, kids process these events very differently than adults do," Meier said. So what does a Project:Camp program look like? Meier said a Project:Camp program is flexible by design, with certain elements that are a part of every camp, no matter the site. "I mean, there are some pillars to it, like we have some of the trauma-informed programming that we do. We do gratitude circles, where we have a little granite turtle that we pass around, and kids get to share something that they're grateful for. It helps them kind of reframe their mindset from being a victim, to also being able to see things that are good in their community, good in their lives," Meier said. A camp counselor helps kids make paper birds. (Danielle Prieur ) Then, Meier said the rest of the camp is dictated by where the site is located, and what resources are accessible and available post-storm. "So we've run camps at children's science museums before, so they've had access to amazing learning tools. And we've done a lot of science experiments with them. We've done camps in just a field before. And so we did a lot of sort of more outdoor games in those scenarios," Meier said. At the pilot camp in Oviedo in March, kids participated in gratitude circles, but also had weekly check-ins and got a visit from therapy dogs. They also did STEM and art projects, and watched movies. A good balance of hard work and just being kids. An emergency manager and a tornado Seminole County Emergency Manager Alan Harris, who brought Project:Camp to the county, said he's blown away by what he saw in Oviedo in March. He said every year he sees what happens to young people who don't or can't get the help they need after a storm. "They can cope with it through alcohol and addiction issues. And they can cope with it medically, physically feeling the effects of these. And we've seen this disaster after disaster after disaster," Harris said. Seminole County Emergency Manager Alan Harris. (Danielle Prieur) Harris said the majority of kids will have pretty bad storm-related anxiety. "When a tornado happens, and in 1998 when we experienced the tornadoes here in Seminole County, which was the worst tornado outbreak in the state of Florida history, the next year, even just a normal storm, youth were reporting back to teachers and counselors that they were scared of just the storm, there was no tornado attached to it," Harris said. Growing up in Gainesville, Harris said he lived through a tornado that shook up his young life and sense of security. "And we had a small tornado in Gainesville, during that time, but I remember very clearly our family in the interior room as the winds blew, and that you heard the train sound and all of that stuff. So very traumatizing to us, us three children," Harris said. It was clear to Harris not only from his own experience, but also that of an emergency manager that more needed to be done to address kids' mental health after a storm. "After Hurricane Irma, we identified that there were some mental health issues, trauma issues related to youth and we had identified a gap. But we really weren't sure how to fill that gap. While I was at the National Hurricane Conference in 2023, I was introduced to Project:Camp and I knew that I wanted to bring that camp here to Seminole County in the Central Florida area," Harris said. After observing just a week of camp at the Y in Oviedo, he's glad he did. "And just to see their faces after that, coming in a little bit scared on Monday, leaving on Friday with laughter and joy," Harris said. "That's what I want after a disaster." The camp difference Rollins College Psychology Professor Sharon Carnahan, who specializes in early childhood development, said programs like Project:Camp work because they give kids space to talk about their feelings, and learn how to process them. "Well, first of all, we have to recognize that if something's happening in the adult world, children know about it, they overhear a conversation, see snippets, they watch, the scary clouds go by, they see flooded roads. And when we don't talk about it, children make up their own understandings of what they're seeing around them," Carnahan said. Rollins College Psychology Professor Sharon Carnahan. (Danielle Prieur) Carnahan said some of these child-like interpretations of events can be much scarier than real life. "Children may really feel responsible for some of the things they see, they may feel responsible for their fears, or for upsetting the adults around them. So, we need to talk with children to make sure they understand what's really happening. And we need to remember that children know, we can't shield them completely from the things that are going on in the grown-ups' lives," Carnahan said. She said of all the skills we should be teaching our children, resiliency is at the top of the list. "Resiliency is recognizing the good things that we have in our lives, but it's also the skills we learn in order to cope with difficulty. Communication and support for feelings in young children is money in the bank when it comes to helping them deal with the storms of life in the future," Carnahan said. Chrissy Hoffman of the YMCA of Central Florida will help run the program this season. She said kids and their mental health after a storm should be a priority for every county in Florida, and she hopes more counties here consider Project:Camp or something like it. "So camp is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a kid and even when it's a day camp that's here, camp is just magic. And so when kids come here, they feel a sense of community with other kids that they may have never met before. But this camp specifically is designed very much for kids, it's for them. And so they feel like they are important. They feel like they matter. And that's something that they can take with them long after this camp is over," Hoffman said. Chrissy Hoffman of the YMCA of Central Florida.(Danielle Prieur) Hoffman said she's so grateful to provide this service in her community. Although it won't be the first time she's stepped up to help after a storm. "And what we were really proud to do after Hurricane Ian, and at the time we were not participating with Project:Camp, is being able to be a safe place for people. We had electricity. So we could have members, and even non-members in the community just come in and take a shower and use our chargers and all of that just so they could have a place to just kind of check in and reset if needed," Hoffman said. Another hurricane season, another camp Back at the Y, fifth grader Zamyrah Cruz says she's excited for the next group of kids to experience the camp, although she's not particularly hoping for another hurricane. A camp counselor helps Zamyrah and friends build boats.(Danielle Prieur) "I would tell them, it's a really good experience. And I would probably tell them, it's oh my goodness, you would have a great time. I got to meet a lot of friends and you will too," Cruz said. The cost of the camps will be covered by the American Red Cross, Seminole County and YMCA. Families will find out about the camp if they use a county-run shelter. Here are some resources that families can use after a hurricane: How to help kids after a storm: https://www.apa.org/topics/disasters-response/tornadoes-kids Resources for families dealing with storm trauma: https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/disasters Tips to help a child with weather anxiety: https://med.uth.edu/psychiatry/2021/07/01/10-tips-to-help-a-child-with-weather-anxiety/
Seminole County one of Florida's first to bring kids trauma-informed camp after hurricanes
One seaside community is fighting against its biggest threat: Water
The assessment that started it all Satellite Beach is home to about 11,000 people. It's located in Brevard County along the Space Coast and has just over four miles of beach that attract both tourists and locals. Back in 2013, after a slate of hurricanes in the early 2000's, community members started to grow more concerned about flooding and climate change in this largely conservative area. Jason Evans, the Executive Director for the Institute for Water and Environmental resilience at Stetson University helped create a Sea Level Rise Technical Assessment for the city of Satellite Beach nearly 10 years ago. "We looked at their assets for stormwater, we looked at all of their critical infrastructure, and so they were really concerned about anything that was owned by the city," Evans said. "So, like the fire station, for example. So, we got really in depth and looked at each piece of infrastructure and looked at what the threshold would be for flooding, and even looked at timing at which there could be some impacts." Evans said that the assessment and the action taken by city leaders after pushed Satellite Beach to the forefront when it comes to dealing with these sorts of issues. They worked with the county on beach restoration, redirected stormwater drainage, and in general updated the stormwater system. "The first thing that starts to fail is going to be the stormwater infrastructure, and it starts failing, even before people would know," Evans said. "So yeah, like the general public is going to know when a lot of people will start to notice is like when the water comes out the wrong way." Evans said that while Satellite Beach is doing more than lots of other places to lessen the impacts of flooding, the reality remains stark. These short-term solutions are important, but he said long term, the real answer is we've got to get on the same page about slowing climate change. "Right now, like in the near term, what these kinds of interventions can do, like in the near term, that it can buy time," Evans said. In the meantime, Evans said municipalities looking to follow in the footsteps of Satellite Beach should first have an assessment done to see what needs updating-- something he says he's seen resistance to. Updating things like stormwater drainage and moving city buildings can be costly and lead to fear and avoidance. "If they don't think they have an issue they do," Evans said. "And then they should start planning. It's really in their own interest to do so." Sand versus the sea Beach and dune restoration are essential for beachside communities because the shore is the first line of defense against flooding and rising sea levels. Mike McGarry is the Beaches Boating and Waterways Program Manager for Brevard County. In the Satellite Beach area, the Army Corps of Engineers and Brevard County have been working in partnership on beach and dune restoration. "The project replaces sand lost from the dune and the upper beach," McGarry said. "During storm events, we replace that sand on occasion, roughly every three or four years but as needed by storm events. So, when a storm erodes the dune, we build it back as a way to just protect and preserve the ongoing dune line." McGarry said another benefit to placing sand and vegetation on beaches like this is that it helps preserve a natural coastal habitat that could be lost if flooding occurs. Although sand and dune restoration are not permanent solutions to protect the city from flooding, McGarry said it is a good short-term solution. "Where we've placed sand, the sand provided protection," McGarry said. "The 2022 storms, the combination of the two, Ian and Nicole, because they were one after another and Nicole hit at a very high tide, nearly the highest tide of the year that year. The erosion was significant, but the sand dunes still protected all the upland properties. The push from the city Courtney Barker, the Satellite Beach City Manager, said residents understand that flooding and climate change are real issues. "We updated our stormwater master plan some years ago, once we did the vulnerability assessment with Dr. Evans," Barker said. "And we included those calculations into the stormwater modeling, which resulted in us having to replace piping and upsize it. We're looking into backflow preventers." Aside from stormwater, the city has moved its fire station to avoid flooding and worked on beach restoration by planting vegetation along the dune line. Now, the city is working to update some of its codes. Leaders want to allow people to elevate their homes reducing the possibility of flooding and they're also looking at moving some public buildings to less flood prone areas. "We got to get on the bandwagon here and start changing our codes and getting better at withstanding the storms," Barker said. Satellite Beach is also looking to change its code around landscaping to give more guidance around where to plant trees and even what types of trees to plant to increase water absorption. "The more trees we have, the better, you know, protection we have from storms, trees are very good windbreakers," Barker said. "They're, they're very good at that. And they help provide shade and lower the heat index for the city." Barker said she understands that for some people, conversations around climate change are political but she says not in Satellite Beach. She says her community is going against the grain. "We are without a doubt, primarily a Republican area," Barker said. "And Satellite Beach is actually considered the super voters because most of the people vote here. And we've really received very little backlash, very little pushback from any of the projects that we're completing." One city's project to fight water with a garden While Satellite Beach's mitigation efforts were spurred by storms and flooding, torrential storms brought new warnings to other cities along Florida's coast like Cape Canaveral. Just about 15 miles from Satellite Beach, the city of Cape Canaveral. Zach Eichholz is the chief resilience manager. He said his city has been battling urban flooding for years, which spurred the idea of a rain garden. "The whole name of the game is really trying to capture rain on site where it falls and get it back into the ground instead of flowing somewhere else where flooding can occur." The new rain garden at Veterans Memorial Park in Cape Canaveral is now being tested to see if it filters stormwater properly and allows it to flow naturally. (Zach Eichholz, Cape Canaveral's Chief Resilience Manager / Cape Canaveral ) The rain garden allows water to flow intentionally to plants and vegetation to be filtered naturally as opposed to regular storm drains that push the water into bodies of water. This system allows for water to be treated before it goes anywhere else. At Veteran's Memorial Park, the rain garden finished construction in April, and now Cape Canaveral is monitoring the project to see how well it does with treating stormwater. If successful, the goal is to install rain gardens across the city. Eichholz said while Cape Canaveral and Satellite Beach may be different cities, they share ideas to combat environmental threats. "We're all highly interconnected," Eichholz said. "And I think sometimes people do forget about that, that someone else's success is also possibly your success. Because we do need to be all this together, we share the same island we share the same space. People don't stop at the boundaries of Cape Canaveral where it's more Satellite Beach and nor does weather, so we need to all kind of be talking and open about what we're doing." One local resident is doing his part to protect his home John Fergus has lived in Satellite Beach for decades. After taking a geology course in college, he became fascinated with the nature and our planet. Now, in his retirement, he shares his concerns on issues centered around rising waters and climate change. When he was on the city's Comprehensive Planning Advisory Board almost fifteen years ago, a local professor researched out about how rising waters could impact the city's future. Fergus believes the community of Satellite Beach and others have to start planning for the worst before it happens. "Bottom line was we have about 40 years before things really get dicey here," Fergus said. "And so, we ought to start planning, we have 40 years. It isn't like Miami Beach where they've got clear day flooding with sea level backing up in the sewer and flooding streets and things. We've got some time, let's make use of it." Fergus acknowledges that the city has made strides in fixing the problems they can in the short term, but there are still long term issues at hand. "We move public works. We already did that by moving the fire station," Fergus said. "They're going to have a problem with a police station. It's elevated, but the street is not. What good's a police station when you have two feet of water in the street in front of you can't get to it?" Fergus said Satellite Beach is home, and he'll try to do whatever he can to help the city and protect the area he cares about. "My wife and I are both 80 years old, we have lived more than half our life literally in this one house," Fergus said. "We raised our children here. This is the community we know." While things like flooding can be managed, Fergus said climate change is rapidly progressing, and he is hopeful that people appreciate Satellite Beach and the world before it's too late. "I wish people understood the folks living in Central Florida, especially here in Satellite Beach, how special and unusual our lifestyle is, as far as the resources that we're consuming and the load that we're putting on the planet," Fergus said. "If they really understood there's no magic silver bullet. We just are going to have to pull back somehow gracefully and how we do that I do not know
One seaside community is fighting against its biggest threat: Water
As new Central Florida homes are built, older ones flood
Volusia County residents complain overdevelopment is driving increasing, persistent floods. (Courtesy of Shane Murphy ) Driving south on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beltway in DeLand, there's new development on nearly every block. What isn't already built is under construction, and nearly every single development is a brand-new, well-manicured subdivision, with some commercial exceptions. Wendy Anderson, who's lived in Volusia County for 10 years, is showing me around. Turning onto East Taylor Road, South Blue Lake Avenue, and Orange Camp Road, we arrive at the Victoria's: Victoria Hills, with uneven terrain and a golf course, Victoria Commons, a dense neighborhood with small townhomes, Victoria Gardens, a 55+ active adult community, The Reserve at Victoria, more sprawling and full of single-family homes, Victoria Oaks, one of the newest additions, and Victoria Trails, where she lives and our focus for this story, along with a community called Sawyer's Landing. All of these neighborhoods make up Victoria Park, a master-planned residential community approved in the late 1990s. It spans nearly 2,000 acres was approved for more than 4,000 living units. Now, for this story, the geography of where Victoria Trails and what Anderson calls a "random" addition, Sawyer's Landing, is important. "Sawyer's Landing is the neighborhood inside our neighborhood that is not our neighborhood," Anderson said. "It's a chunk of land that was developed after Victoria Park was approved." According to the Stetson University environmental science professor, the original developers of Victoria Park had never intended on building Sawyer's Landing. The small subdivision is a horseshoe with some 90 homes built on what, original plans show, was meant to be left untouched as natural wetlands. She said this was before the Great Recession hit, and the project switched hands. "It was sold off to another group," Anderson said. "The original developers here were not going to develop it because it was originally wetlands, but the people they sold it to didn't have any problem doing that." Victoria Trails resident Wendy Anderson shows us a pond that just a few years ago used to be dry land with cattle. She pointed to the gate and fences sticking out from the water and noted the water line, which shows the water sat high for a long time. "We're looking at the intersection of climate change and overdevelopment," she said. (Courtesy of Shane Murphy) Wetlands hold a lot of water. According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association and the Environmental Protection Agency, one acre of wetlands can hold up to 1.5 million gallons of water, acting like a sort of sponge, before then distributing that water through a natural hydrology network. Houses and even the most permeable cement can't do that. Anderson is also an appointed member of the Volusia County Environment and Natural Resources Advisory Committee, or ENRAC, where she helps draft language for new ordinances to address flooding issues. Over the years, she's watched her neighbors deal with increased and sustained floods, which led to her concerns with the Victoria Trails and the Sawyer's Landing developments. Anderson believes they are directly responsible for the severe, long standing floods affecting older adjacent communities on unincorporated county land. "These two areas are creating a much, much higher elevation, almost like a dam that kind of pushes the water. That water used to spread out over a much larger wetland area and now is being contained or constrained into those larger acreage properties," she said. The water displacement, however, isn't the only thing on Anderson's mind. In accordance with the St. Johns Water Management District and city of DeLand regulations, roads and homes are to be built at higher elevations to avoid flooding. This means, newer neighborhoods under the purview of the SJWMD are built at least to the 25-year, 24-hour minimum storm standards. DeLand has stricter standards. Developments there must be able to withstand the 100-year, 24-hour storm. In other words, a major flood event that has a 1% chance of happening in any given year. Older neighborhoods didn't have to meet those regulations. Anderson said the north section of Victoria Trails and Sawyer's Landing have been built up on a lot of excess fill. Meaning, they sit at a "much higher elevation" than the older neighborhoods, now below, experiencing chronic flooding. The Sawyer's Landing plans show how engineers designed a drainage basin system to offset the pre-development water runoff post development. The Victoria Trails "as built" plans show elevations of up to 5 feet. These practices follow the St. Johns Water Management District and city of DeLand's regulations for development approval and can be found transparently on the permit site online. (Lillian Hernández-Caraballo) Because water flows downslope, Anderson says it's all ending up on the northwest side, where her county neighbors live, in what the city said are naturally low-lying areas of unincorporated county land, which Anderson said used to be flat. "It's not that laws are being broken. Laws are actually being followed. And so these developers are required to do what they've done," she said. Her other concern is the pump. According to Anderson, for years, Sawyer's Landing was pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to the surface to keep its retention pond looking full for aesthetic purposes. Retention ponds are designed by engineers to offset pre-development water runoff by holding and diverting stormwater. Keeping those retention ponds artificially full defeats their purpose, she said. Victoria Trails development plans show ground elevations of up to 5 feet, while the Sawyer's Landing plans show the recharge pump set to keep the water level at 78 feet. Anderson said, the retention ponds in her neighborhood are kept at 75 feet. Although Anderson eventually got the pump shut off in 2022, she believes all that extra water, as the area was getting hit with record-high rainfall, helped raise the water table – in other words, the level at which water normally sits underground is now higher. Keith Riger is a civil engineer with 40 years of experience can attest that water tables need time to find equilibrium. "Once the groundwater fills up, once the water table rises up, it takes a long time for it to go back down," Riger said. Retired pilot and DeLand resident Charles Parker has been living in DeLand for five years with his wife, Annette. After the hurricanes, he said, the water never receded. "I used to mow this back here," Parker said. "Now, it's a pond." Parker noted the dying trees and water lines from previous floods.(Courtesy of Charles Parker) Riger has worked both in Volusia County and DeLand in public works. He said that during his time he has seen a lot change, mainly an urban population boom in Central Florida and increasing rainfall. According to Riger, among other factors, these changes can make it harder for engineers to make accurate predictions, as they have not traditionally counted these rare heavy rainfall events in their data. However, he said they usually "get it right." "Engineers are not infallible; they make design recommendations based on the information that they have available at the time," he said. As extraordinary events can and do occur, and now more frequently, Riger said some local governments have been adopting even more stringent regulations to account for rising water and changing rain patterns. "We're mindful that, whether it be climate change, or back-to-back storms, hurricanes, or normal variability, sometimes the criteria doesn't provide enough storage volume to attenuate the problem," he said. For JC Figueredo, that's putting it lightly. The small business owner owns 12 acres of unincorporated county land, directly to the other side of Victoria Trails and Sawyer's Landing. Figueredo's property isn't in a flood zone. In fact, he lives in an area of the state designated as the least likely to flood. Still, he said he hadn't seen his grass in almost five years. He can now because it's been a dry season but the ground remains squishy. "It's never held water this long during no rain," Figueredo said. "Since they finished these developments, this ground has been wet like this. It's ruined. You can't do anything with it." Volusia County Chair Jeff Brower and JC Figueredo, a county resident, look out at what's left of the flooding Figueredo's land has maintained for five years. (Courtesy of Shane Murphy) Like Anderson, Figueredo said he believes stormwater now just sits here due to runoff from newer developments and more are under construction. "There's nowhere for water to go. So, the problem is that, if they don't fix it, it's going to affect thousands of people here soon," he said. Thousands of people across Volusia County already claim that new development is the cause for their flooding. Figueredo and his neighbors have taken their grievances to the city, the county, engineers, and developers – he even filed a lawsuit that a judge dismissed earlier this year. At the same time, they're taking matters into their own hands; spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on commercial-grade underground pumps, building their own retention ponds, and installing raised berms around their properties to dam the water. According to County Chair Jeff Brower, some have had to walk away from their homes altogether. But this isn't exclusive to this community near East Taylor Road and Jackson Road. Multiple communities across Volusia County have taken this issue to local leaders. In March, more than 1,000 people rallied in Port Orange, demanding better flood mitigation measures and low-impact development. In April, the Venetian Bay neighborhood of New Smyrna Beach adopted a moratorium on new developments after finding errors in their stormwater plan. A worker tries to dig a retention pond at Common Grounds Farms on East Taylor Road in preparation of the upcoming storm season. "It's too wet," he said. Common Grounds Farm owner John Joslin lost half his crops in 2022 after record-high rainfall flooded his farmland and the waters never receded. In this photo, the land has not had rain in months.(Courtesy of Shane Murphy) And this month, residents of Daytona Park Estates in Daytona Beach requested to meet with the county on concerns that new homes are causing older properties to flood. People left comments on County Councilman Danny Robins' Facebook post, in which he offered to meet with the public, after sharing an official county document stating officials are aware of the DPE residents' concerns. The statement went on to say that county taxes do not go to residential flood mitigation or stormwater management, which are expensive processes usually left up to individual communities. "The county has not approved any plans or funding for the design and construction of a master stormwater system in Daytona Park Estates. This would be a significant undertaking to complete," the document said. "Funding an activity like this in a vested subdivision is typically handled by a special assessment of the property owners within the subdivisions." For now, the city of DeLand said in a statement that it's in talks with the county and residents to try and mitigate ongoing flooding. They cited an extensive study of the area, in which independent engineers concluded that rain is causing the floods, not development. "Somebody needs to scratch their head and say 'Okay, we need to do something different here,' and that's where we are," Brower said. Brower has committed to not approve any more new development proposals until officials can come up with solutions to current flooding issues. He said he's trying to get the rest of the council to follow suit, but for the most part, he said, he stands alone. "I think they associate development with economic development, that it brings in tax money, it brings in jobs. And I wouldn't disagree with that if we were doing it correctly," Brower said. "There's this idea that if you don't grow, you're dying. I say, if you don't grow responsibly, you risk dying a horrible death." In April, the city of New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County adopted a moratorium on new development for the Venetian Bay community, after an independent study showed discrepancies in the stormwater management plan. This photo, taken May 6, 2024, shows new construction happening just next door.(Lillian Hernández Caraballo) Craig Fugate was the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator for eight years and now lives in Florida. He said local governments should be working with FEMA to redraft development regulations and flood maps, but he said that when the agency tries to expand flood insurance rates zones as needed "people hate it," and there's often resistance. "Not always, but in some communities, developers and builders, and to a certain degree, public officials will push back against that because they perceive it as limiting their opportunity to develop something," Fugate said. Fugate said development can be improved upon without big economic impact, but the conversations need to be had. With climate change and increasing populations, soon, he said, old industry standards won't cut it anymore. "Are we building resiliency into future construction based upon these extreme rainfall events? Or are we stuck only doing what we've done in the past, and it's just going to keep happening?" Fugate said. He said this is especially true for Florida and homeowners need to step up for themselves if local governments won't. "When you look at an overhead, you have built literally in proverbial swamps, watershed areas, and the headwaters of the three major waterways of Florida. And then you're surprised when you get, you know, an extreme rainfall event, and your area floods," Fugate said. "People say, 'Oh, but it's never flooded here before.' Well, I wouldn't use my past experiences trying to figure out what's going to happen, when you're getting record-setting rainfall events occurring, which means, it's never happened in your lifetime." Until people stop playing the blame game and see the matter for what it is, Fugate said, he recommends homeowners find ways to protect themselves. In Victoria Park, the Victoria Oaks neighborhood is still under development, with "New Homes" signs everywhere to attract buyers. (Courtesy of Shane Murphy) Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report For America corps member.
As new Central Florida homes are built, older ones flood
Saving the Space Coast's future and past from rising water
Where the oceans meets the sky. In this archival photo of NASA's LC-39A, Space Shuttle Endeavour stands ready to launch Aug. 8, 2007. This aerial images shows the water surrounding the launch bad that threatens to damage it as water continues to rise. (Richard Clark / NASA) This episode is part of Central Florida Public Media's special series "Central Florida Seen and Heard: Rising Water," exploring the effects of water on Central Florida and urgent calls to address policy and other barriers to change as we prepare for a supercharged upcoming storm season. Keeping Kennedy Space Center launch pads dry After Superstorm Sandy in 2012, engineers at the Kennedy Space Center were motivated to start doing more to protect the launch pads and the area from flooding and erosion. The Kennedy Space Center is surrounded by water. It's by design, protecting nearby people from possible launch accidents. But it's also one of the facility's biggest threats – which is in a constant battle preventing water intrusion from affecting launch pads. Tom Ingler, the Director of Center Planning and Development for Kennedy Space Center, said when engineers first constructed the launch pads, elevation was essential to avoid groundwater flooding. Because the launch pads have water on all sides, Ingler said they have been working to try to mitigate the flooding, including supporting nearby sand dunes. "We've experienced several storms since the dunes were put together. Proud to say for the team that designed the dune restoration project that dunes have held up really well," Ingler said. "The intent was to protect the infrastructure that sits on the other side of the water from the dunes. And so far that's gone really well. It's not a guarantee, it is one of the mitigation measures that we need to be looking at long term." Restoration efforts underway to the dunes at the north beaches at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 8, 2018.(Kim Shiflett / NASA ) While climate change and rising seas are a slow and long-term threat, Kennedy Space Center has been developing projects to combat flooding in the short term. Along with dune restoration, they are trying to elevate a road called Phillips Parkway that stretches between the dunes and launch sites. "So as part of our planning process, we have taken look at all the different factors that that would affect the type of construction we're doing, which not just includes sea level rise and the existing wetlands that we have, but threatened and endangered species and factors like that," Ingler said. "So we've actually narrowed down our development areas into a few small areas that allows us to basically protect against all of those different factors including sea level rise and potential for those larger storms." Since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, Kennedy Space Center is working to became a multi-user space port, hosting both government agencies and commercial companies. With four companies — SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing — calling KSC home, Ingler said it is essential to protect the space center for the future of space exploration. "We definitely need to protect it the best as we can and ensure that the advantages that have been gained by opening up our Space Center to commercial companies continues to pay dividends and really benefit the American public as a whole," Ingler said. "And it's been significant. It's something to really be proud of, and like I said, this environment exists nowhere else in the world." Saving Space Coast history before it washes away Former student Aaron Ott surveys the original Canaveral Lighthouse location. Where he is standing is now the high tide line. (Courtesy Stacey Barber) Anthropologists in Central Florida are trying to preserve the history that is scattered along the Space Coast — from thed decades-ago space race to evidence of the first Indian River inhabitants thousands of years ago. Once dry artifacts are now soaked in water including ancient pottery and village sites. In the Indian River Lagoon, anthropologist like Stacy Barber are trying to dig up that history before the water takes it. While water can help preserve some artifacts, when water creeps in on previously dry sites, the water can change the artifact completely. "Things like cloth and hair and fingernails preserve, really so water can be this real boon to archaeology," Barber said. "However, if the site is dry and then water starts to creep into the site, when you have that change in conditions, that's when you really see destruction of sites. We are also finding as water rises, that the archeological remains that previously were dry land are now inundated." UCF graduate student Elizabeth Peabody surveys the water's edge amounf the mangroves in the Indian River. Her team found artifacts in the water. (Courtesy Stacy Barber) Barber said the Space Coast was once home to possibly thousands of people in the precontact period. Because of rising sea levels, she now must wade out into places like the Indian River Lagoon for her research. As water creeps in and threatens to destroy this history, Barber is hopeful that people can see the gravity of what could be lost if climate change and sea level rise continue to grow. "Our past is our memory," Barber said. "And we don't know who we are, if we don't know where we've come from. The people who lived on the Indian River Lagoon prior to Spanish arrival are unfortunately not are not the ancestors of the vast majority of Floridians today; however, the people who lived for the contract on the Indian River Lagoon were the people who created the lagoon that we inherited today." While there are no perfect answers to fix some of these problems with flooding and water moving onto dry sites, anthropologists must wade out into the water before it is too late. And anthropologists like Barber are working to preserve more recent history – like that of the history of the U.S. space race of the 1950s and 60s. "In the short term, what I can do is I can dig these sites and document these sites before they get washed away in the hopes that while those sites may be gone, the materials that were in them are protected in in climate-controlled conditions," Barber said. "And we have my field notes, and we have my radiocarbon dates and all of those things, to allow future researchers to continue to understand and build on our knowledge of that past."
Saving the Space Coast's future and past from rising water
The Veterans Memorial Park "Smart" Rain Garden in The City of Cape Canaveral works to treat stormwater runoff before entering the Banana River Lagoon. (Talia Blake / Central Florida Public Media) Flooding the streets and wallets Climate change is impacting Central Florida municipalities' budgets and is expected to cause major budget losses as cities rely on property taxes from coastal structures that may be underwater in the future, according to a study from researchers at Florida State University and Cornell. Researchers believe the United States will likely see two feet of sea level rise over the next 21 years, and chronic or bi-weekly flooding will cause property values to drop, among other things. As sea levels rise, municipalities are expected to face long term revenue losses, according to Will Butler, associate professor of Urban Regional Planning at Florida State University. "They start to face these fiscal challenges, not just the physical challenges of flooding," said Butler. For example, The City of Cape Canaveral - an area flanked by the Banana River Lagoon and Atlantic Ocean - is expected to lose 38% of its total revenue by 2100. Linda Shi, assistant professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University, said sea level rise is impacting the money coming in and going out. "On the expenditure side, you can imagine all sorts of increased expenditures due to emergency response to elevate roads, enlarge sewers, or augment existing levees or sea walls," said Shi. "On the other side, in terms of revenues, if you have a lot of climate impacts, that causes property values to decline. If you have demolition or buyouts of properties, that will remove housing stock." Shi said it can also affect the number of businesses that are willing to come to Florida and the revenue that businesses are going to be able to earn. "So if they're simultaneously depending upon those local source revenues, and facing threats to those revenues, then we see this tension building between these two sides of the equation," added Butler. However, Butler said there is time for municipalities to get ahead of this issue as, "it's not really bad quite yet." Impact of 6.6 ft of sea level rise on municipal revenues in Florida (Shi, L., Butler, W., Holmes, T., Thomas, R., Milordis, A., Ignatowski, J., ... Aldag, A. M. (2024). / Can Florida's Coast Survive Its Reliance on Development? Fiscal Vulnerability and Funding Woes Under Sea Level Rise. Journal of the American Planning Association) If municipalities are not able to come up with a solution, Shi said there could be negative effects on your daily life. "It can affect transportation and septic tank systems," she said. "All of that begins to be problematic and inconvenient, or potentially extremely costly at a household level, which affects your entire household financial assets and wellbeing." There are also societal responses to sea level rising already happening, said Shi, pointing to the cost of property insurance and in some cases the lack of availability of it. "On the one hand, you see that insurance companies are trying to lower their own risks from climate change. They're going to start escalating those costs in order to try to get to an actuarial level, where their costs equal their damages that they have to pay out," Shi said. "On the other hand, at some point, what we're seeing is that insurance companies are beginning to pull out of places that they perceive to be extremely at risk." Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed insurer of last resort, had 1.17 million policies as of March 31, 2024, after private insurers left the state following Hurricane Idalia. Putting In the Work Warming oceans are thought to be causing more severe hurricanes but Butler said it's not all bad. When addressing policy issues to combat flooding, The City of Cape Canaveral uses major weather events to drum up support from residents. "A big accelerant that we've used in the last few years was Hurricane Ian. It genuinely scared a lot of individuals. I think it was a wake up call for many who had recently moved to the state. We were able to use it to really push forward a few different projects, where we saw several vulnerabilities highlighted through Ian's passage. It is kind of a dark race, but you never let a good crisis go to waste." said Zach Eichholz, Chief Resilience Manager for the City of Cape Canaveral. The City of Cape Canaveral is working to address the issues of sea level rise by investing in both green and gray infrastructure. They're planning to break ground this year on a permanent pump station and tidal valve system in an effort to alleviate flooding in the Center Street Drainage Basin. The tidal valve will prevent water from the Banana River Lagoon, where the basin drains, from back-flowing into the stormwater system during periods of heavy rain. "Then the pump will pump water around the tidal valve and out into the Lagoon safely to draw down the existing system and return it to almost like a pre-development level where the system will have as much capacity as it physically can to be able to handle storm situations much better," said Eichholz. Over the past five years, Eichholz said they have been leaning more heavily on green infrastructure adaptation projects, spending roughly between $2 million to $5 million dollars. "Because if it's done correctly, those assets can appreciate over time, whereas you will always see a depreciation in traditional gray infrastructure that will require maintenance, upkeep, repair, monitoring," he said. "That is, of course, the case with green infrastructure. But those assets being usually plants, trees, or some other type of nature based solution will literally grow and compound on their success." For example, since 2005 the City has hosted an annual sea oats planting event with the goal of planting 220,000 sea oats by 2035. As of this year, the City has planted 196,838. "The 2004 hurricane season devastated the coastal dunes here and really left no beach protection for coastal residents. Since then, with these planting efforts, we've been able to push the dune system back out upwards of 100 feet and have a well vegetated dune line that performed extremely well during Hurricane Nicole in November of 2022." A weather sensor located on the roof of City Hall in Cape Canaveral.(Talia Blake / Central Florida Public Media) Eichholz said the City is also installing a system of remote sensor sites across Cape Canaveral that will relay water level and climatological data in real time. " So we can understand what's happening to us in real time on a street by street level," he said. "That information is not only for emergency first responders, but also to engineering firms that help us with projects, such as the Center Street Basin pump station." Cape Canaveral's comprehensive approach is a good example of how to address some of the threats to sea level rise, according to FSU's Will Butler. "There are real costs involved in any one of these kinds of projects, and diversifying the range of revenue sources can really help address that whether there are public private revenue sharing sources, there's federal and state, as well as local kinds of resources that can be brought to bear on," he said. But, Butler said there may also need to be new kinds of financing mechanisms that can facilitate the kinds of investments that are going to be necessary in the future of Florida. Funding & Equity According to the study's survey of coastal planners and managers, the top challenge to addressing sea level rise is funding for implementation and funding for planning. "Now that money is flowing through the Resilient Florida program, that may address some of those barriers around funding a little bit," said Will Butler. "Although billions were requested, they only were able to find about $600 million for direct implementation of projects." That's why cities like Cape Canaveral are leveraging public and private partners to help with planning and funding projects. "One of the primary resources that we've been using as the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council," said Zach Eichholz. "They've been pretty invaluable to help us with many things, including acquiring grants to help fund projects." Eichholz said the City also used a grant awarded by the National Science Foundation to complete the development of the Veterans Memorial Park "Smart" Rain Garden, which treats stormwater runoff from the surrounding area before entering the Banana River Lagoon. "This particular project had, including the City, 14 grant partners on it, which was the most we've ever had," said Eichholz. Florida's municipal fiscal vulnerability to 6.6 ft of sea level rise(Shi, L., Butler, W., Holmes, T., Thomas, R., Milordis, A., Ignatowski, J., ... Aldag, A. M. (2024). / Can Florida's Coast Survive Its Reliance on Development? Fiscal Vulnerability and Funding Woes Under Sea Level Rise. Journal of the American Planning Association) While municipalities figure out how to combat the impacts of sea level rise and potential fiscal losses, Linda Shi said, cities that are the smallest by population and land size, the richest, and whitest are going to be among the most impacted. "So you can imagine a lot of small barrier island municipalities, that is basically a lot of the demographics that we're talking about seeing the most," she said. "Because they're very small, there's nowhere else to spread that risk. There's nobody generating tax dollars, except for residential properties, which tend to be in mid to high rise condos." However, Shi said those who have the ability to easily move out of flood risk zones will leaving behind those who don't have the means while possibly displacing other low income residents in there newly chosen communities. "A real concern that groups that historically have benefited from public investment, subsidies, taxes, housing, preferential development of various kinds are again going to be better able to avail of safer and more resilient housing," she said. "While groups that historically have not benefited from those investments are again going to be shafted to less resilient, more flood prone, and more affordable housing in low lying places." To ensure help is getting to all resident and combat the issues of flooding and sea level rise, Butler said there's an opportunity to reinvision the system. "There are pieces of the system that we have the opportunity to improve, to make better, more equitable, more sustainable, to make healthier opportunities for thriving communities," said Butler. "We want people to stay in Florida and to thrive in Florida, we should be working on those aspects too because we need a place where it's an inclusive place where people can live for the long term."
Millions of dollars spent on flood protection, but is it out of date?
Cynthia Slater, 68, stands on sandbags leftover from Hurricane Ian, which flooded her home along with her neighbors with 3 feet of water. Slater has had her home flooded and gutted four times in 20 years after four separate storm events. She lives in Midtown, a neighborhood in Daytona Beach built about 30 years ago as affordable housing for first-time homeowners. However, residents, like Slater, have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. After Hurricane Ian flooded the neighborhood in 2022, Slater went to the Daytona Beach City Council meeting demanding change and better protections.(Joe Mario Pedersen / Central Florida Public Media) Water was seeping in under Cynthia Slater's Daytona Beach front door. It was 2022, and Hurricane Ian had already flooded the streets of her Midtown neighborhood. She had planned to stay, but it only took about 60 minutes for the flood waters to inch their way from the road to her door... Slater, 68, knew she had to go. She had abandoned her home to water three times before. "I had to wade out, get in my car. And I had to drive across the neighbor's lawn because I couldn't drive in the street," she said. Slater said she returned home two days later. Her living room was 3 feet underwater. She was greeted by a sickening wet smell wafting through her living room and knew that mold was on its way... "Here we go again," she said looking at her ruined home. She knew the drill. Slater began moving everything out. She bought fans to begin the drying process and called contractors to begin gutting the walls. Cynthia Slater's home after Hurricane Ian brought 3-feet of water inside. Slater said she still remembers coming home after the storm and a sickening wet smell greeting her inside. It wasn't quite mold, yet. But she knew mold was soon to come. (Cynthia Slater) Ian marked the fourth hurricane in 20 years that brought Slater'shouse to ruin. The first was Hurricane Charley in 2004 and then Matthew in 2016 followed by Hurricane Irma in 2017., "It was like back to back," she said. "I can't take this anymore." Slater has lived in Daytona Beach all her life and has noticed the flooding getting worse. Even without a hurricane, she said a strong rainstorm would flood her road. Daytona Beach is an example of a local municipality facing a Sisyphean hill to climb when preparing for the next big storm. "The greatest challenge to local governments comes from rapidly changing flood risk profiles," said Kelly Kibler, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Central Florida. Local governments are spending millions of dollars to better meet flood challenges. However, preparing for another Hurricane Ian isn't viewed as economically wise as experts estimate the cost of preparations would far outweigh the economic benefit. That line of thinking is based on the way historical storm patterns impact a geographic area. However, as powerful storms become more frequent, the government's reliance on historical storm data to control the level of flood mitigation is being called into question. "It's the definition of insanity" A week after Ian, Slater went to a Daytona Beach City Council meeting. During public comment, She approached the dias and laid out before the council four pairs of wading boots. "These are all of the boots that I had to purchase because of all of the (20) years of flooding," Slater said. "I refuse to continue to invest in a home where as soon as it is repaired, two months, one year, two years down the road, we're flooded again and again and again." Video of this meeting shows the city council silently nodding in agreement. "It's the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and over again and getting the same results if we fix our homes," Slater said. Cynthia Slater, 68, speaking at the Daytona Beach City Council meeting a week after Hurricane Ian flooded her Midtown home. On her right, are four pairs of wading boots. Slater bought each pair after a storm flooded out her home, which has happened four times in less than 20 years.(City of Daytona Beach ) Today Slater's home looks fine. She has new furniture and the walls have been replaced. You can hardly tell it was destroyed by a flood, but her retirement account shows the scars. After insurance and FEMA paid $75,000, Slater had to dip into her retirement account for an extra $15,000 to cover the rest. In nearly 20 years, Slater has put in about half a million dollars into repairs of her home. Insurance and FEMA have helped, but it was never enough to cover all the damages. In the wake of Ian, Slater is left with a thought. If stronger storms are getting more frequent, why is she putting money toward repairs, instead of the city investing in improved flood mitigation? Midtown was just swamp and trees when Slater was a kid in the 50s. She is the youngest of seven children. Her dad worked as a carpenter and her mom a maid. Slater would travel with her for work on the beachside. It didn't flood much back then, Slater said. A notable exception was 1960's Hurricane Donna – a major storm when it hit the tip of the Florida peninsula. It ripped its way north and past Daytona Beach as a Category 1 storm. "It was fun because when it rained, you know we didn't have school. There was water in the street that we played in," Slater said with a nostalgic smile. "But I don't ever remember the houses flooding." These days floods aren't fun. Slater, as the local NAACP president, helps her neighbors navigate Hurricane Ian relief funding. Many of her neighbors in Midtown have also gone through repeated disasters. Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry's brother lived in Midtown and weathered two hurricane floodings in the last 10 years. Cynthia Slater, 68, cleared out her home's furniture after 2022 Hurricane Ian. About 3-feet of water entered her home ruining all her furniture. She recalls the woods inside had swollen up. Slater bought fans to dry the inside and called contractors to begin gutting her house.(Cynthia Slater) "I know the pain that (Slater) experiences, is not hyperbole or overstated. It is accurate and resonates deeply," Henry said. Henry has served as Daytona Beach's mayor since 2012. He's been dealing with the flood conversation since taking office. He too has noticed the problem getting worse with more frequent powerful storms. "The flood mitigation is the greatest issue of my political life," he said. Henry made a similar statement in 2014. "It's certainly at the top of my agenda. We accept that it's our responsibility to make sure it doesn't happen again, so we have more work to do," he told the Daytona Beach News Journal after Midtown residents were dealing with another flooding from a strong thunderstorm. Henry said that Midtown, in particular, faces troubles due to its geography. "It's the lowest area of the city. It's like a bowl," he said. The Midtown neighborhood was built as affordable housing for first-time home buyers. Sitting adjacent and above is the neighborhood of Newtown where water trickles down to Midtown, Henry said. Henry said he isn't sure why developers chose the area to build affordable housing, as it was known to be swampy 40 years before it was developed. For the last 12 years, Commissioner Paula Reed has served Zone 6, which Midtown resides in. Central Florida Public Media reached out to Reed for comment on Midtown but she did not respond. Since Henry has been in office, improvements to Daytona Beach's infrastructure have occurred including the expansion of retention ponds and improvements to drainage along Nova Road's parallel canal. Hurricane Ian flooding in Volusia County. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the county had 40 buildings destroyed, and 1,378 structures were damaged following the storm.
Millions of dollars spent on flood protection, but is it out of date?
Decades-old maps don't fully capture Central Florida's flooding risk
Orange County Stormwater Management Chief Engineer Daniel Negron examines paper copies of the county's official flood maps, which he says FEMA made widely available online in 2009. Before then, Negron says he and other staff would scan the paper flood maps into Orange County's own, digitized system. (Molly Duerig / Central Florida Public Media) It's business as usual today at The Breezeway Restaurant & Bar in Historic Downtown Sanford. The place is filled with voices of patrons and laughter, almost drowning out the clinking of glasses and silverware. It's the lunch rush. People are enjoying a drink with their Friday afternoon lunch, and General Manager Louis Quiñones is in the zone, weaving in and out of the place to ensure his staff gets through the busy shift. Once things settle down a bit, Quiñones sits down for a moment to recall a day in September 2021, when he was called into the restaurant because flooding water came rushing in through the restaurant's outdoor courtyard, where customers were dining. Locals at the Breezeway are no strangers to the classic, Central Florida afternoon thunderstorm, as Quiñones puts it. What caught them by surprise was the flooding. "That one was really, really weird because that one actually wasn't a hurricane; that was just a normal storm. It was almost – I don't want to say 'flash flood,' but that's basically what it was." Sanford is flooding more often these days, partly because the city's 100-year-old stormwater infrastructure can't keep up with demand from new development, according to Breezeway General Manager Louis Quiñones. "The amount of water that's coming in, it's like you're trying to dump a gallon through a straw. It's just too much," Quiñones said.(Credit Shane Murphy) A video of the event went viral, making national headlines. The video shows people propping their feet up on their tables to avoid the water, mostly laughing it off. Those good vibes, Quiñones says, were his favorite part. "In this area, our mentality, our characteristic is, basically, just have fun with it," he said. "You're not gonna be able to change the waters." But the behavior, flow, and patterns of water do change. A year later, Hurricanes Ian and Nicole came through, but it was an unnamed tropical storm afterward that Quiñones says caused the most damage. The Breezeway's family of buildings dates back more than 100 years. The cobblestone on the iconic pub's courtyard floor was laid out over a century ago. "This is a very old building, so things like that do affect us big," Quiñones said. "When you have deterioration, when you have the flood coming through, we're losing equipment, we're losing furniture, it does a lot to it." In Seminole County, rainfall totals are up 150% since 2011. Quiñones said he's all too aware. NOAA data show a 150% increase in Seminole County's rainfall totals since 2011.(Graph by Lillian Hernández Caraballo / Central Florida Public Media) "Flooding wasn't like this when I was here back in 2017. (...) Now, it's literally washing through where you're up to your calves, basically," he said. "It's something new for us, so we're trying to figure out how to get through, especially the next coming years." Flooding can be tough to predict. For Central Florida communities relying on official flood maps that are almost 20 years old, it can be even more difficult. A lot has changed in two decades, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) flood maps don't fully account for all those changes: like development, stormwater infrastructure, and climate change. But importantly, the scope of FEMA flood maps is limited to begin with. The maps are designed primarily to illustrate where one, specific type of flood is most likely to occur: the 100-year flood. Also called a Special Flood Hazard Area or SFHA, the 100-year floodplain is an area with at least a 1% chance of flooding each year. But it's a bit of a deceptive term, according to Seminole County Public Works Project Manager Jeff Sloman. "What's called a 100-year flood, is defined as a storm event that, statistically, has a 1% chance of occurring every year. It's not a storm that occurs every hundred years," Sloman said. In fact, in the last five years alone, nearly half of U.S. counties experienced a flood event, according to FEMA. And nationally, 40% of flood insurance claims come from outside the 100-year floodplain. "Binary views, the 'in or out' of a flood zone, can lead to the misconception that properties outside of the FEMA flood zone are safe from flooding," a FEMA spokesperson wrote in an email to Central Florida Public Media. "There is no such thing as a 'no-risk zone.'" Seminole County Public Works Project Manager Jeff Sloman shows reporter Lillian Hernández Caraballo an example of what a basin study looks like, during an interview in late April for "Central Florida Seen & Heard: Rising Water." Seminole is in the process of studying nearly all of its basins at once, Sloman said at that time.(Molly Duerig / Central Florida Public Media) Even as flooding gets worse, the state of the country's flood mapping is incomplete, according to the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). A dozen years after the enactment of a 2012 federal law requiring FEMA to develop and maintain adequate flood maps, only about a third of the nation has been mapped. That's partly because the process of gauging flood risk is lengthy and expensive, requiring lots of coordination between local, state and federal agencies. Although FEMA produces the actual flood maps, the federal agency relies on data collected at the local level. In Seminole County, it's the first time nearly all of the county's drainage basins are being evaluated at once, Sloman said. All three of Sanford's drainage basins discharge into Lake Monroe, which is in itself a basin to the St. Johns River. A basin, or watershed, is an area that collects, stores, and transports water to a certain point; Sanford Public Works Manager Mike Cash describes it as "wherever that water [in Lake Monroe] arrives from."(Molly Duerig / Central Florida Public Media) Along with helping to update flood maps, basin studies also help the county develop flood mitigation projects, which can be costly, Sloman said. Before this most recent undertaking, Seminole County hadn't updated most of its basin studies in at least twenty years, per the county's 2018 stormwater master plan. Conducting a single basin study can take months. Once finished, the findings are submitted to FEMA. "It takes probably over a year, from your initial submission until the maps are actually issued," Sloman said. And that's just for one basin. There are 16 basins in Seminole County, 13 of which are either being studied now or were studied recently, Sloman said. Meanwhile, it was 2007 when FEMA last updated Seminole County's flood map, nearly 20 years ago. The area has since experienced a population and development boom: meaning less wetlands, more cement, and displaced water. And that water still has to go somewhere. Mills Creek trickles through the Downtown Sanford area, eventually discharging into Lake Monroe. The Mills Creek basin is one of three basins in the Sanford area, according to Mike Cash, the city's public works manager.(Molly Duerig / Central Florida Public Media) Based on findings so far from the ongoing basin studies, Seminole County's highest-risk flood areas are growing "significantly" larger, Sloman said. Along with the compounding factors of increased rainfall and rising water levels, Florida's changing floodplains could be a recipe for disaster, Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said during a recent visit to Central Florida. "Not to use a metaphor that might be particularly apt for Florida, but it does seem like there's almost a perfect storm of pressures going on here," McCabe said, speaking at a roundtable discussion on water resources organized by U.S. Representative Darren Soto, in Kissimmee. At that meeting in late March, McCabe addressed what she characterized as shortcomings with the country's current flood mapping system, saying it's time to stop living in the past and address current — and future — water management challenges. "Things are enshrined in policy and regulation and in people's brains: 'Well, this is how we do it. And this is what the maps are, so just use those maps,'" McCabe said. "But those maps are not gonna help us plan 5, 10 years and longer, down the road. We need to be able to use the best science and the best predictions as we go forward." EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe, second from right, speaks with local officials during a roundtable discussion on water resources at Buenaventura Lakes Library on March 27, 2024. (From left to right: Orange County Utilities Deputy Director Kerry Kates and Director Ed Torres; Toho Water Authority Executive Director Todd Swingle; and U.S. Rep. Darren Soto (D-09).(Molly Duerig / Central Florida Public Media) Mostly, FEMA flood maps are about flood insurance. Technically, they're called Flood Insurance Rate Maps, or FIRMs, identifying the Special Flood Hazard Areas where flood insurance is required. Florida alone accounts for nearly $8 billion in potential annual losses from flooding: more than anywhere else in the country, according to a study by First Street Foundation. It's also the #4 state for Severe Repetitive Loss Properties, or SRLPS: the most flood-prone structures covered by insurance, flooding about 5 times each, on average, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. More than 3,550 SRLPs are in Florida, and per NRDC, 12% are outside the 100-year floodplain. Whether in or out of the floodplain, officials with FEMA and local governments alike strongly recommend flood insurance for nearly everyone in Florida. "If you're not in the floodplain, and you think there's any chance in the world that your house might flood, you'd better carry flood insurance," said Sanford Public Works Manager Mike Cash. A born and raised Sanford resident himself, Cash says the area floods more now than it did when he was growing up. That's why Cash got the city involved with FEMA's Community Rating System, or CRS, about seven years ago, he said. The voluntary, point-based CRS program grades local governments based on what they do to reduce flood risk. In exchange, community members get discounts on flood insurance: the better a municipality's score, the bigger the discount. Right now, Seminole County is ranked CRS Class 6, translating to a 20% discount on flood insurance. Sanford, Class 7, gets 15%. Florida has some of the highest flood insurance premiums in the nation, with annual rates ranging from $541 in lower-risk zones to $2,472 in higher-risk zones, according to FEMA data. Osceola County Certified Floodplain Manager and Engineer II Carlos Castro uses
Decades-old maps don't fully capture Central Florida's flooding risk
Editor's note: Impacts of rising water on Central Florida
This week, the team of journalists at Central Florida Public Media are rolling out the second installment of our flagship series Central Florida Seen & Heard but this time, instead of immigration, our focus is on rising water. Just days before the start of what's expected to be one of the most active hurricane seasons on record, we're taking a deep dive look at some of the impacts of our changing climate. When planning this series, the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane season was top of mind for us here at Central Florida Public Media. Hurricanes Ian and Nicole brought historic flooding to the region that lasted weeks, even months, in some places, and highlighted the need for better flood mitigation and control in our neighborhoods. Our reporters met people across our coverage area who lost their homes, their businesses, and more, after those storms. And in our follow-up reporting since then, we found that many people are still dealing with damage from those storms. Ahead of this hurricane season, many are uncertain of what's to come and if history may repeat itself once again. This series comes on the heels of Governor Ron DeSantis signing into law last week legislation making climate change a lesser priority in the state. We take pride in producing trustworthy, independent journalism. And while we understand that climate change has become a contentious term, division IS NOT our goal. We live in a complex world and our aim is to provide you with fact-based information that informs your decision making. A changing climate is affecting hurricanes, making storms stronger, and allowing them to rapidly intensify. Forecasters are predicting an extremely active storm season this year. And while climate change may be a driving force in increasing intensity of storms, other factors are at play increasing our region's risk of flooding again. Our reporters uncovered outdated flood maps of the region that don't show the full scope of flooding risks in Central Florida, and that historical data used to make decisions about flood protections may be irrelevant. We also explored how development may affect flooding, and how some residents are urging municipal and county leaders to act now. Another story looks at challenges of communicating storm risks to non-English speakers and what work is still ahead to make sure all of Central Florida receives and understands critical communication. This series also looks at places that are taking active steps to mitigate the risk of rising waters. We also look at a new program aimed at addressing the trauma of a storm or flood event on our community's youngest residents. Here at Central Florida Public Media, we like to say that we are grounded in listening. As news director, I'm proud to say that's not just a catchy tagline or phrase that we throw around. You have told us that these are issues that are important to you and critical to our region. We held several meetings with members of our content team trying to decide our focus, and during each meeting, discussions around flooding and what we're hearing from people in our region found their way to the center stage. We are listening. By the end of this series, we hope you understand the complicated factors that contribute to Central Florida's flooding risks, and the urgency needed to address these issues and protect our communities from future flooding events. Our goal is to outline the facts and give you the context to make decisions about our future. Rising water will certainly be in our future. But with this knowledge and context we hope our audiences recognizes the urgency in taking action...and that our local leaders take the steps needed to keep our region and our environment thriving.
Editor's note: Impacts of rising water on Central Florida
'Living in the shadow': A family of Mexican immigrants tells their Florida story
Nine of the Arroyo family siblings — along with their parents Donaciano Arroyo and Maria Vaca — are shown in a family photo taken, perhaps in the 1980s, before family members moved from Mexico to the U.S. in the 1990s. A tenth sibling — an undocument woman being referred to here as "Ave" — is not shown. Familly members say they believe she was taking the picture.(Family snapshot / Courtesy of the Arroyo family) Immigrant families are everywhere in Florida. A third of the state's children live in those families, according to 2021 data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation Many of the families are a mix of immigration statuses. Some members are U.S. citizens, some are seeking asylum, some have a permit to live and work here, like a green card, and some are undocumented. As part of WMFE's special series – Central Florida Seen and Heard: Immigration Divide – members of a multi-generational immigrant family in Dover talked about their Florida story. 'A faithful family' This interview is at the home of 50-year-old Santiago Arroyo. He's one of 10 siblings. Nine of them followed their parents from Mexico to Florida in the 1990s. He's a U.S. citizen now and runs a house-painting company with business across Central Florida. "We started like my father," he said. "I work in the fields, picked strawberries, picked cucumbers, oranges, and then we start, we start moving from the agriculture to the warehouses, and then to the construction. " Then Santiago Arroyo started his own company. On a Wednesday evening, his mom and dad, several of his sisters, plus some of their kids and grandkids have gathered. The kitchen table is loaded with the makings of chicken tinga tostadas. The food is cleared away and two microphones are placed on the table. The first question is for an older sister, a woman with curly gray-streaked black hair and luminous brown eyes behind black-rimmed glasses. She's chosen the nickname "Ave" because she's still undocumented. The question: "If you were to choose a word to describe your family, what would that be?" "A faithful family," Ave said. "I think God is our center of our life. I know that God blessed us as a family to bring here in this country." It's a recurring theme for the Arroyos – being rooted in faith – ever since, back in Mexico, their parents would lead them in saying the rosary together. Coming to Florida Their father – Donaciano Arroyo, who's 81 now – says he first came over by himself in 1988 to pick strawberries. He spoke in Spanish, and Nanci Palacios of the nonprofit Faith in Florida helped with translation. "I came to Florida because I needed job opportunities," he said. "I didn't really have a lot of schooling back home, and all I had was my two arms." Donaciano Arroyo was undocumented at first, and he and is wife traveled widely doing agricultural work. Later, he worked as a welder. The family says he became a U.S. citizen in 2006, which has made a big difference for most of the siblings. "The urgency behind being able to become a citizen was my children were having difficulty being able to adjust their status," Donaciano Arroyo said, "and so I had to apply for citizenship to make it easier to petition for my family." Santiago Arroyo said that during his own first 15 years in the U.S. – when he was still undocumented — he worried about driving without a license. "That was my biggest fear," he said, "that if I get in trouble with the law, my legal situation never will be fixed. After my father becomes a citizen, everything sped up. In six months, we were already with a green card." Donaciano Arroyo and Maria Vaca pose with a granddaughter — going here by a nickname, "Chary," — following a family interview in Dover.(Joe Byrnes / WMFE News) A granddaughter's perspective The family members range in age from 1 to 81. And when they get together it's loud and fun and there's a great variety of good food. That's according to a niece, who asked to be called by the nickname "Chary" to protect an undocumented relative. One holiday — Nochebuena — is an especially big deal, she said. "Christmas Eve is a very important day and it's just like you're up at like 8 in the morning trying to prepare food and you're up until midnight. You know, and just these traditions they're trying to instill in us, that we're still hopefully able to, like, show our kids in the future." Chary says her aunts and uncles grew up together but were shaped by different experiences of life in America. "So they all have different feelings, different interpretations of everything," Chary added. "It's like they all have their own struggles." Ave's story For Ave, as a married mother of five, a permanent resident card – the green card — remained out of her reach, even though her father had become a U.S. citizen. "Before, or when my children were small," she said. "I was afraid. I didn't want to drive. So I was keeping most of the time in my house. Every time that we went to the church or buy groceries it was, like, hard because I'm always tell(ing) my children, 'Be good, don't move. The police is everywhere.'" Her children were also afraid, Ave said. "All these years, it's like living in the shadow. So we're not talk(ing) about this, not even with my family because it's something like just inside me or my own family." She thanks God for the courage to take courses and find a job. Ave said she's worked for the same company for 20 years — starting in the fields, moving up to a warehouse and eventually working in an office. Her sisters have asked her to visit Mexico with them and that's something she longs to do. I wanted to go with them one time to see my Mejico lindo y querido because it's my country, Ave said. But visiting her "beautiful and beloved Mexico" would mean leaving behind, perhaps for good, the life — and the grandchildren — she has here in Florida. The family likes to take vacations together. But Ave says the new Florida immigration law – which took effect July 1st – forced them to move their vacation up this year. Senate Bill 1718 makes it a felony to transport an undocumented person into — or back into — Florida. "And," she added, "we were thinking, 'Oh, maybe this is going to be the last vacation, family vacation, because of these laws.'" Still, for Ave, their life here is a promise fulfilled. "When we were in Mexico," she said, "we used to pray the rosary every day. So there is a promise. When families pray together, they will be together. That promise that our God says, it became true in our family because we are living all together, the nine siblings, we're still living in Florida. " Ave said that the new fears that have come to her community with SB 1718 have reminded her of that promise. Abigail is one of the youngest members of the large Arroyo family that first came to Florida from Mexico in the 1980s and '90s.(Joe Byrnes / WMFE News)
'Living in the shadow': A family of Mexican immigrants tells their Florida story
