ORLANDO, Fla. — Some areas now bracing for Hurricane Milton are still recovering from heavy rain from about a month ago. 

A strong afternoon storm on Sept. 1, dumped several inches of rain on Orlando’s Wadeview Park, Thornton Park and SODO communities, causing major flooding problems.

What You Need To Know

  • United Against Poverty provides food, clothing and other items for people in need  

  • The nonprofit was hit by flooding on Sept. 1, when an afternoon storm dumped several inches on the SODO, Wadeview Park and Thornton Park communities

  • With Milton on the way, leaders at the nonprofit say they are taking steps to make sure they can continue to help people before and after the storm

  • The nonprofit plans to stay open until it is safe to do so on Wednesday, and then reopen as soon as possible after the storm

United Against Poverty provides food, clothing and other items for people in need, but they were hit by flooding at the beginning of September. And with Milton on the way, they’re taking steps to make sure they can continue to help people before, and after the storm.

UAP Executive Director Anjali Vaya was making sure emergency supplies were ready for hundreds of the nonprofit’s clients in case they need them right after the storm. The nonprofit offers discounted groceries and other items to hundreds of people every day. 

“I don’t want to underestimate the storm,” Shoube Singh said while stocking up on groceries at the UAP store Monday.

“I’m worried it’s going to be a power outage and not sure how long it will be back, and flooding as well and I won’t be able to go to the store,” Singh said. “So that’s my main thing — to stock up on food items."

But the nonprofit is still recovering from several inches of floodwater that poured into the facility just a few weeks ago.

“We’ve never seen water coming into our building that way — it was lake over here,” Vaya said.

So they brought in mounds of sand for sandbags so they can fortify their facility.

“Because in situations like this, the people are going to need us, and we can’t be shutting our doors in a situation like this,” said Vaya.

They also offered a sandbag filling station for their clients and local businesses.

Within a few days, Vaya said those mounds of sand disappeared.

“I’m not surprised the residents are this concerned, because this is a full-fledged hurricane,” Vaya said.

While sand for sandbag filling is gone, Vaya said the store would be open on Tuesday and as long as possible on Wednesday. 

After the storm, depending on possible damage, Vaya  said they would reopen as quickly as they can.