Record water levels on St. Johns River pose major flooding risk in Florida (again)

As residents around the St. Johns River continued to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Ian, Hurricane Nicole impacted the area and worsened already difficult recovery efforts.

After weeks of dealing with the fallout from Hurricane Ian, Floridians who live around the St. Johns River in eastern Florida were becoming optimistic that things were finally drying out. Residents were hoping repairs could get underway soon, but all of those plans were halted, and optimistic feelings were erased as yet another hurricane approached the state.

Hurricane Ian brought devastation to communities along the river in late September, including in Seminole County which is located northeast of Orlando. It took days before those living in Seminole County could even begin assessing the damage to their properties as water continued to pour into homes.

But right as the St. Johns River started to return to normal levels, Hurricane Nicole formed and brought yet another risk of flooding to the already devastated area. As Nicole approached the Florida coast, heavy rain once again returned.

Normally, the St. Johns River water level is about 2 feet at the river gauge in Astor, Florida, a Lake County community situated about 45 miles to the north of Orlando. When Nicole made landfall in Florida on Thursday, Nov. 10, the gauge there hit 4.5 feet, which is just 2 inches shy of the record flooding set just last month during Ian.

In general, the area saw a water level rise of about 1 to 1.2 feet after Nicole.

That may not sound like a lot, but it's such a flat landscape in that part of Florida that the rise was enough for the area to jump from moderate flooding back into major flooding, AccuWeather Senior Broadcast Meteorologist Geoff Cornish explained.

The St. Johns River is an almost linear lake that moves slowly, meaning it will take weeks before flooding along the river subsides, according to Cornish.

"Unfortunately, with this historic flooding this fall, even though it's close to the river, there are people here who have never seen water come up to their properties like this, and, unfortunately, a lot of people here being impacted do not have flood insurance," AccuWeather National Weather Reporter Bill Wadell said.

The St. Johns River is one of the few rivers in North America that flows from south to north, making it unique in how it drains into the Atlantic. Residents told Wadell they will need more federal disaster aid to help with the continued flooding issues from Ian and now Nicole.

"It's so tough for people when this is the road to get to your homes," said Wadell as he reported in front of a flooded roadway that resembled a lake.

Debbie Thorpe of Astor, Florida, is one of many frustrated residents across the state requesting state and federal disaster aid.

"I hope for something to help the people, and then somewhere along the line, a couple months down the road, they get started with some infrastructure," Thorpe told Wadell.

The murky waters and wildlife continue to inch closer to Thorpe's home. Thorpe said snakes and alligators nearby have become twice as common, and even though her home is dry, her neighbors down the street have been dealing with these floodwaters since Ian.

After Hurricane Ian, residents were told the river would remain high through Thanksgiving, but Hurricane Nicole has pushed that date back further, potentially well after the holidays.

"This isn’t going to go away, probably until Christmas … this stuff, where we live, needs to be fixed," said Thorpe.

While the flooding has caused great devastation and concern for residents of the area, it's not the only thing that's worrying them. Those who have worked and lived along the river for years told AccuWeather's Bill Wadell that they are also concerned about the impacts of a major fish kill and how the flooding will impact their next insurance policy.

“With Hurricane Ian and now Nicole, we could see a potential water quality disaster,” Ocean Conservancy Group director J.P. Brooker told Bay News.

The increased water level from the excessive rainfall results in nutrient-laden runoff, which leads to those nutrients flowing downstream and to the coast, where it can aid in fueling algae growth.

"Some of these blooms -- such as red tide and blue-green algae -- cause fish kills, soil our precious coastlines and devastate our economy,” said Brooker.

Red tide contaminates shellfish and kills fish and larger marine animals, including dolphins and manatees.

"We know Florida gets a lot of rain. [The residents there] don't need any more rain right now as all of this water tries to flow north through the lakes," said Wadell.

Additional reporting by Bill Wadell

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