PORT ORANGE, Fla. – News 6 was in Port Orange to witness the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, which washed out several roads in the area.
Along Tomoka Farms Road, flooding near Pioneer Trail left large lawns underwater on Thursday.
Vehicles using nearby roadways could be seen jetting streams of water from their wheel wells, plodding through enough of it to cover the abutting pasture space like a lake.
[RELATED: Where Milton ranks among strongest Atlantic hurricanes | TIMELINE: Here’s when the worst of Hurricane Milton ends | Strongest winds so far in Central Florida from Hurricane Milton | Download the FREE News 6 hurricane app]
Elsewhere on Tomoka Farms Road, News 6 Photographer DJ McCathran encountered a pickup truck stopped near what appears to be a washout. A section of the road had been eaten away about as far as the bike lane paint.
Visiting the neighborhood “A Quiet Place in the Country” close by, McCathran met John Robbins, whose truck had been caught in another road collapse.
Robbins’ pickup was left with its two rightmost wheels dipped below the rest of the road’s surface.
Robbins told McCathran that he had set out at first light to canvass the neighborhood when the road gave out from under his vehicle.
“Driving down the road and it was like this and as you can see there’s no water here, but I think what happened is overnight the velocity of the water siphoned all of the base from underneath the road, you can see the road is washed out,” Robbins said, gesturing to the shoulder and scattered pieces of broken asphalt. “I’m driving and all of a sudden, boom, I’m sideways and I feel like I’m about to flip and my wheels are off the ground over there, so I’m stuck. I’ve got a $65,000 four-wheel drive, but I can’t get out of this thing, I’m stuck.”
A trip west on Interstate 4 would take you closer to Orange City, where the Florida Department of Transportation was at work Thursday detouring traffic away from a total washout on U.S. 17-92, south of Enterprise Road.
Not only were all lanes of 17-92 closed after the washout here, but photos shared by FDOT show that the lanes are no longer even there. Traffic was being detoured using East Highbanks Road and Enterprise Road, FDOT said on social media.
Volusia County Fire Rescue and the Volusia Sheriff’s Office issued a joint statement Thursday urging motorists to avoid non-essential travel this soon after Milton.
Many roads throughout the county remain hazardous, cluttered with debris, and obstructed by standing water. These conditions pose significant risks to public safety and can impede the efforts of emergency and recovery teams working diligently to clear and secure roadways.
Officials will make a public announcement when road conditions have improved sufficiently to make travel safe again. The Citizens Information Center (CIC) is open 24/7 until further notice. Residents can reach the CIC at 866-345-0345. Residents can stay updated by downloading the Volusia Emergency Management app, following the County’s social media channels, or visiting www.volusia.org.
Volusia County Fire Rescue and Volusia Sheriff’s Office Warn Against Non-Essential Travel (excerpt)
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