Astor Disaster: Record Flooding From Ian

    Hurricane Ian passed east of Lake County overnight last Wednesday and into Thursday, largely sparing area residents the worst of the storm's wrath. While power outages lasted for a day or two and were reported throughout areas of North Lake, the worst of the storm's damage descended on Astor, where the riverfront community is experiencing record flooding in the storm's aftermath.
   "This is the worst I have ever seen it," said James Powell, a life-long resident of the community, current president of the Astor Area Chamber of Commerce, and owner of the St. Johns River Campground and Powell's Campground locations. Powell echoed data supplied by the US Geological Survey, which indicated the river crested at 4.71 feet over flood stage on Friday night, surpassing the 4.6 feet of flooding recorded in 2017 when Hurricane Irma's impacts shut down the community for weeks. The river was expected to recede at a slow level into the weekend, but is expected to remain in 'major' flood stage, over four feet, for some time. Exactly how water moves through the Astor area is dependent on wind direction, with Powell on Monday reporting a northerly wind that slows, and can even reverse the northerly flow of the river. Combined with a large amount of water trying to make its way north through the river as a result of heavy downpours delivered by Ian, and exactly how long sections of Astor will remain underwater is unknown.
   Several riverfront homes and businesses were seeing flooding from the rising waters, with some residents needing assistance to evacuate from their homes safely.
   Among the areas most impacted by the high water were Claire Street and adjoining roads, Alligator Road, Possum Road, and roads north of those locations. Boat ramps on Butler Street, Pearl Street, and Lake George were all closed, to limit activity on the river. Boat docks are underwater, and high water's proximity to homes raises the risk for injury or further property damage should boats travel the area. Community reports indicate the river has been mostly abandoned since the storm, save for patrolling law enforcement.
   The Lake County Sheriff's Office and Lake County Office of Emergency Management went into the weekend asking the general public to avoid the Astor area until conditions improve.
   “For safety reasons and due to heavy emergency personnel presence, the offices are asking non-residents to stay clear of the Astor community,” said Sarah Lux, lead Public Information Officer for Lake County. “Residents and visitors alike are highly encouraged to use alternative routes to SR 40.”
   Lux said it is hoped people will also avoid attempting to gain access to the river.
   “Visitors should not travel to the area out of curiosity. No water activities should take place on the St. Johns River Astor area until water levels decrease.”
   Exactly when that will be was unknown this week, as sporadic winds from the north slowed the river’s traditional flow, and water distributed throughout the river’s tributaries to the south still has to make its way north through Astor before eventually dumping into the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville.
   “My heart goes out to those who have sustained property damage or who have been displaced,” said Lake County Commissioner Leslie Campione, whose district includes Astor and who toured the area on Friday. “But I’m very grateful our county has not suffered loss of life as a result of this storm.”
   Campione said Lake County was fully engaged in supporting residents in the area impacted by the storm, and on Monday was hoping for even more.
   “Until further notified by FEMA, we only have local assistance available and we are offering help through LASER (Lake Support And Emergency Recovery) to individuals who have requested immediate assistance with regard to water and food, shelter, or home repair. We have also assisted with some overnight sheltering.”
   As of midday Monday, Volusia County had been approved for FEMA assistance, but Lake County had not. However, later Monday evening Lake County was added to the federal disaster list.
   The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has maintained a presence in Astor since the storm, setting up a command center at the First Baptist Church of Astor. Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell was on hand at the site Friday, inspecting the operations that include a makeshift distribution site for food donated from a variety of sources, including Publix grocery stores on David Walker Road and SR 19 in Eustis.
   On Wednesday, LASER was set to coordinate with Kroger groceries to bring water and food to Astor for those in need.
   Clay Electric, which services the Astor area, saw over 2,000 customers in its Lake County operations lose power during Ian, but by Friday morning power had been restored in some areas, including along SR 40. Businesses including the Triple Z grocery and Sparky’s Place restaurant opened to support recovery.
   Power outages were a theme in North Lake County from Ian, but outages were far less widespread and shorter than in 2017, when Hurricane Irma's impact left some areas without power for upwards of a week.
   SECO Energy, which serves large areas of unincorporated North Lake County, saw an estimated 6,000 customers from Altoona to Paisley to unincorporated Eustis lose power during the storm, but was able to restore service by Friday night in most areas. Duke Energy, which serves the Umatilla, Eustis, Tavares, and Sorrento areas, reported over 20,000 customer outages from the storm, but as with SECO, most had power restored relatively quickly. On Monday, Duke was reporting single-digit outages in its local service areas.
   One area that lost power was on the west side of Umatilla, including a section that serves the town wastewater plant. City officials reported that the plant's generator system was operating until regular power could be restored.
   The city reported six inches of rain from the storm, consistent with local gauges around town. Further north in the Altoona area, as much as ten inches was reported, with the seven-inch amount being more generally seen in the area.
   On Tuesday, officials reminded residents of flooded areas to avoid potential health and safety issues that can generally be found in such situations. Flooded areas could contain sewage from septic, wild animal, or other sources, and hide wood or metal objects that can cause injury, and can encourage infections if cuts are exposed to flood waters.