SANFORD, Fla. — Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Milton caused flooding in parts of Central Florida, some areas are still dealing with the aftermath.

On October 12, Seminole County crews put down Tiger Dams in the city to prevent floodwaters from impacting businesses. 

They have been removed, but water still covers parts of East Seminole Boulevard, so the roadway has remained closed.

What You Need To Know

  • Parts of East Seminole Boulevard remains flooded in Sanford following Hurricane Milton
  • Brady Lessard, economic development director with the city of Sanford, expects the road to operational over the next week or so
  • Because of the road closure, the owner of Filomena's Pizzeria & Ristorante said he's had to get creative to get customers in the door

“We expect the river to recede completely by this weekend, then we’ll get our public works folks in here to assess the road base and things of that nature to make sure the roads not only able to accommodate traffic, which it certainly can, but that it doesn’t damage the road further,” said Sanford Economic Development Director Brady Lessard.

The owner of one business right next to the road closure says his restaurant has felt the impact. 

“I try to stay open always in downtown Sanford. I closed one or two days, after that, we reopened,” said Jose Diaz, owner of Filomena’s Pizzeria & Ristorante. 

Now, after Hurricane Milton, Diaz said the challenge is making sure customers know his business is open.

As a result, Diaz has had to scale back on some hours for his employees. 

“The last two weekends, more than 50% in sales we lost because the road is closed," he said. "People are a little lost."

Diaz said he had to think outside the box and took to social media to reach his customers.

Lessard said the city plans to host a downtown business summit in the near future to address some of the issues.