Residents deal with rising floodwaters near homes in North Port after storm

Streets in North Port became flooded after Elsa, and water has been creeping into some people’s yards. Some families were choosing to leave their homes Thursday, as water could significantly rise in the next 72 hours.

Families are doing everything they can to protect themselves and their properties. The City of North Port sent out sandbags to help families in the process. Some said they didn’t want to risk it and went to an evacuation shelter.

Police blocked off a section of Tropicaire Boulevard, and they’re only letting people who live there into the area.

Joe Morningstar is filling sandbags to protect his home from the rising water.

“My son-in-law called me and told me that the streets were flooding,” Morningstar said. “Then, I went out and looked, and it started to come up. And then after that, it’s just been constantly rising.”

Morningstar said his pasture where he and his wife keep their horses is already flooded, and they’re not taking any chances.

“My wife already hauled three horses away,” Morningstar said. “She’s got to come back and get five more.”

Community members said they are will to do what they must to stay safe while hoping they can keep their homes safe in the process.

“If I have to leave, I’ll leave,” Will Salazar said. “I just want to try to protect my property as much as I can.”

North Port says this is happening as stormwater moves south toward Charlotte Harbor.

Questions people have asked us: Why is this kind of flooding happening days after Elsa? Could we see this in other locations?

Win Everham, an expert at FGCU’s The Water School, says flooding is getting worse in Southwest Florida because of development, and more canals were dug throughout communities. He says the rain water has to go somewhere, and the river systems are getting overloaded.

“The degree to which people have tried to manage the water, by digging canals, so it goes off the landscape quickly,” Everham explained. “That just means whoever is downstream from them is more likely to get flooded. You know, the water just doesn’t disappear. If you want it off of your yard, it goes into somebody else’s yard.”

Everham says he thinks this level of flooding is unlikely in other parts of Southwest Florida now that Elsa is gone. However, he said it is a possibility that this kind of flooding could happen in other locations as hurricane season continues.