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Floodwaters Still Rising In Central Florida, Homes Left Empty

Thursday, August 28, 2008 – updated: 5:51 pm EDT August 28, 2008

Fay is long gone, but floodwaters are still rising in Central Florida. Along the St. Johns River in Seminole County, Lake Harney is about three feet above flood stage and Lake Monroe could flood homes and businesses this weekend.


VIDEO REPORT: Neighborhoods Left Empty As Floods Remain

In Brevard County, the water is rising around Lake Poinsett. In Volusia County, the St. Johns River is expected to flood even more homes in DeBary.

Residents are coming back to homes in flooded DeBary, but they're still not able to come in. So what you have essentially are entire streets, in some cases entire neighborhoods, with no one home and no one knows how long it will be this way.

In Stone Island, a resident made a long, slow walk after getting the newspaper, wading down a street you could drive down just days ago. In the distance, a UHaul truck was in axle-deep flood water as residents moved their few dry possessions to safety.

Miles down the road, water was beginning to move toward homes in the River Oaks neighborhood.

In DeBary, even with pumps running full time, Glen Abbey and the Golf and Country Club are still under water, quiet and empty.

"It's weird to come back and just see the water still here. That's the hard part," said homeowner Jonel Persinger.

James and Jonel Persinger returned to their neighborhood Thursday to meet with a FEMA representative. It was an easy quick meeting, 10 minutes, but it won't help them get home anytime soon.

"It's kinda disgusting. You can see the mess. It's not livable," James said.

Because no one is home and everyone knows that, the sheriff's office has dedicated deputies to patrolling the empty neighborhoods. One deputy told Eyewitness News he drove 200 miles Wednesday doing nothing but checking on homes where no one is home.

Water in neighborhoods along the St. Johns River has now surpassed the levels of the 2004 storms and it's still coming up and chasing more people out.

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