ORLANDO, Fla. — People throughout Florida continue to assess the damage from Hurricane Milton. And for those living along the St. Johns River, some of the flooding impact from the storm is still being realized. Some homeowners along the St. Johns River in Seminole, Volusia and Lake Counties are dealing with a river level that’s still rising.

What You Need To Know

  • Some homeowners along the St. Johns River in Seminole, Volusia and Lake Counties are dealing with a river level that’s still rising

  • Some streets in Seminole County’s St. Johns River Estates now look like a scene from the hours after Hurricane Milton moved through

  • Floodwater is more than a foot deep in spots on the streets in St. Johns River Estates, forcing some residents to park their cars on a nearby street and walk back and forth to their homes

  • Emergency management officials don't expect the St. Johns to crest as high as after Hurricane Ian two years ago

Some streets in Seminole County’s St. Johns River Estates now look like a scene from the hours after Hurricane Milton moved through. But it was several days after the storm moved through that the water began creeping up.

“The water’s been coming up about an inch every day,” said Bob Ray, a St. Johns River Estates homeowner.

Ray says big storms like Ian have caused flooding in his neighborhood before. Homes there are seated right along the river.

“We’re still cleaning up after Ian was here, surprisingly enough, and here we are again,” said Ray. “But we’ve taken some precautions, so hopefully the damage won’t be as great as it was before.”

Floodwater began covering Ray’s street a couple of days ago. It’s more than a foot deep in spots - too deep for most of his neighbors to drive through anymore. So they’re now having to park their cars on a nearby street, and walk back and forth to their homes each day.

“I’ll take garbage bags and put one garbage bag on each leg and cross over and try to use the drier spots to get out of the neighborhood,” said Ray.

“It may be a month or more before the water level starts to down to the point where we can get cars back in here again.”

Luckily, floodwaters rarely completely flood the homes in his neighborhood. It’s mostly the backyards and driveways that take on water. It’s the getting in and out each day that gets tricky. But Ray says getting to live on the river is worth the inconvenience.

“We see manatees in here, we’ve even seen wild dolphins this far up in the river,” said Ray. “It’s so pristine and so nice, you don’t want to leave the neighborhood to go to work.”

But heading to work or anywhere else for the next few weeks will involve a trek through the swollen St. Johns River.