PORT ORANGE, Fla. – Port Orange residents and businesses faced flooding inside their homes Sunday, with water levels rising again Monday night.
Many residents told News 6 they noticed the city’s drains weren’t working properly during the heavy rains. To find out why, News 6 spoke with city engineer Junos Reed.
“We had what we call a high-intensity short-duration storm, so we had close to four inches of rain fall in a little under an hour so the systems that the water drains into were over capacity,” Reed said.
[VIDEO: Port Orange flooding raises concerns as more rain is forecast this week]
The city said most modern stormwater systems are designed to handle about 11 inches of rainfall over a 24-hour period. But Reed explained that a king tide coinciding with the storm left water in Port Orange’s canals, ponds, and drainage systems with nowhere to go.
“Unfortunately, there was nothing in this specific situation we could have done pre-storm to prevent this from happening,” Reed said.
In the large Sleepy Hollow neighborhood, which has flooded during hurricanes in past decades, the city has applied for funding to improve drainage. Plans include new inlets, larger pipes, and a large pumping station. However, design work won’t begin until late 2026, with construction following after.
[VIDEO: Port Orange flooding raises concerns as more rain is forecast this week]
“There’s been some drainage improvement projects done in Sleepy Hollow in the past that haven’t been as effective as when they originally designed them,” Reed said.
For residents like Kathy Hall, even current rainstorms have them on high alert.
“It’s very frustrating. What are we supposed to do while they figure out what to do? I’m stumped! I don’t know what to do — I’m going to end up losing my house,” Hall said.
On Tuesday, Hall placed cinder blocks under her furniture.
“Last night, it came up again and it’s not going down like it was previously,” Hall said.