WEBSTER, Fla. — Webster residents in Sumter County continue to deal with flood waters — many who are still evacuated from their homes.
Much of the flooding occurred after Hurricane Milton passed and waters from the nearby Withlacoochee River started to rise, and are still rising.
If you walk around Jay Alderman’s parents’ property, he will show you how flooding from a hurricane can force residents out of their home.
“We had to go to another county and get them and drive and get them. By the time we got back in, it was flowing in even faster,” said Alderman.
The 10-acre property suffered serious water damage inside and outside.
Alderman and his family tried to save the inside with sandbags, but two feet of water filled up his parents’ home.
“All the wooded floors came up. They got so wet. They loosened up and started floating up in there,” said Alderman.
Since then, small pumps have barely moved any water out, so his parents packed up and moved out.
“It was just bad smelling. And it can cause mold. And nobody wants to be sick,” Alderman said. “So, they just went to the villages and got an Airbnb.”
Meanwhile, neighbor Glenn Frazier has been using his kayak to get on and off his property, and says it was scary when the water started filling up the neighborhood.
“It got really bad,” he said while paddling his kayak. “As you can see, this is my new vehicle.”
Frazier says two hurricanes and high river levels have devastated some Webster homeowners.
“I’m blessed here to be talking to you. There are some people that have not returned to their home. Can’t even go to their home, because there is no home,” said Frazier.
Officials have told residents it may be weeks before water levels recede enough before homeowners can safely move back into their properties.