DAVENPORT, Fla. — It’s been several months since Hurricane Ian made landfall, but one Davenport community is still underwater.
Hurricane season has come and gone, but about three feet of water from Hurricane Ian remains in this Davenport community.
“What you’re seeing has never occurred here before,” said Fred Daniell.
Fred Daniell has lived in his home for 22 years and said he never experienced flooding like this. Daniell lives next to a lake. He said a seawall that was built for a new subdivision nearby changed the water flow, which he believes is causing his neighborhood to flood.
“As these subdivisions are being built and the water flows into the lake, there’s nowhere for that water to go. Recently if you look over here to my left, this is the last new subdivision that went in,” said Daniell.
He is having to pump water out of his shed, and his house is now collapsing at one end.
“I’ve built a dyke around the home in order to protect the home. There are pumps running to keep the water out from under it,” Daniell said. “The sad part is FEMA denied my claim because I have flood insurance. Flood insurance in order to save the home tells me they’ll pay back $1,000, and I've spent $7,000.”
His neighbor has water up to the back wall of her house. “It’s very frustrating. Our septic is kind of iffy. You have to really watch what you put down the drains,” Beverly Brewer said.
Daniell is now asking the county to put in pipes to pump the water out.
ABC Action News reached out to the Polk County Board of County Commissioners and was told they are working to come up with a solution. One commissioner has come out to access the property.
“The way I’ve calculated, it’s going down three inches a month. So, it’s going to take a year for the water level to go down with absolutely zero rain, and here in Davenport, that’s impossible,” Daniell said.
