ORLANDO, Fla. — Some Orange County residents are hoping for dry conditions after flash flooding left several cars stranded on a busy road on Tuesday night.
- 2 cars became trapped on Powers Drive
- One driver describes how she escaped from her flooded car
- Orange Co. Public Works working on temp. fixes
Water quickly pooled onto Powers Drive near Silver Star Road in the Pine Hills area, trapping at least two drivers.
Drivers say this road has flooded in the past but nothing like what they saw Tuesday night. At around 10 p.m. the two vehicles were trapped in the floodwaters on Powers Drive.
The water rose high enough that it nearly reached the side-view mirror of one silver car.
Drivers say they did not realize how deep the water was until it was simply too late.
"So I had to roll down the window; jump out the window; jump in the water, which came up to my waist and push our car out of the road. Once I got our car onto this dead-end road here, there was another woman in a sports car. She looked like she was about to drown," said Maddy Samy, who was trapped in the floodwaters.
Drivers said because it was dark that they did not realize how deep the water was.
“I didn’t even know it was that high, and water just started flooding into the car, so I kind of panicked; I got scared, I didn’t know what to do," said Samy.
She and her son managed to push the car onto the next street where it sat all night. Samy is beyond frustrated, because flooding on this well-traveled street is not unusual.
“It hasn’t been as bad as it was yesterday, but it is definitely not the first time. Every time it rains, this street floods," said Samy.
People around the area are now questioning if there is a drainage problem along Powers Drive.
Brown muck now covers Powers Drive, and a water line on a wall boarding the road shows how the water rose to almost three feet.
A series of problems apparently caused the flooding.
In addition to a large contributing area draining to the intersection, the network of pipes that takes on the excess water drains into a nearby private pond that was fully saturated, and three to four inches of rain fell in just two to three hours.
“We have been dealing with this issue since the 30th of July, and so we already know there are issues here," said Victoria Siplin, Orange County Commissioner, District 6.
That’s why the Orange County Public Works crews spent the day out there, working on the temporary fixes and paving the way for a consultant group to survey the area for a permanent fix.
“We know the issue, we are here, we are not turning a blind eye to it,” said Siplin.
So for now, people need to drive cautiously through this area, especially when it rains.
Siplin said anyone with any concerns should call her office at (407) 836-5409.
Reporter Deborah Souverain contributed to this story.