Eye on the Tropics

Majority of residents at Kissimmee mobile home park flooded after Irma will have to relocate

By Steve Barrett, WFTV.com
By Steve Barrett, WFTV.com
A majority of residents at a 55 and older community in Kissimmee that was flooded after Hurricane Irma likely won’t be able to return home.
Seniors who live in the Good Samaritan Society community told Channel 9’s Steve Barrett the mold that’s grown in their mobile homes since they evacuated last week has consumed everything.
Read: Residents of Kissimmee community grateful to return home despite Irma’s mess
Eighty percent of the people who lived in flooded units at the park will end up having to leave the community.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Photos: Flooding from Irma in Kissimmmee 55+ community

Entering one of the formerly flooded units now requires a mask and gloves because of the mold. Sue Mann entered her apartment Thursday to a smell so bad it appeared to have set off the smoke alarm.

Read: 300 evacuated from Kissimmee community hit hard by Irma flooding

“I’m very sad,” Mann said.
Mann is one of hundreds who are being told they’ll get their security deposits back, but that they must move out.
Jon Garbus is sorting through his disabled father’s belongings, trying to find anything that hasn’t been contaminated or can at least be cleaned.
“What is salvageable? Pretty much anything that's on the wall, anything that's plastic. Anything that's fabric based, clothing, chairs, wood -- it's all got to go,” said Garbus.

Read: More than 80,000 without power a week after Irma, officials say

The residents at the park said they’re starting to get answers during private meetings with community management.

Watch: Aerial view of flooding in Good Samaritan Society

Cox Media Group

Steve Barrett

Steve Barrett, WFTV.com

Reporter Steve Barrett returned to WFTV in mid-2017 after 18 months in the Twin Cities, where he worked as Vice President of Communications for an Artificial Intelligence software firm aligned with IBM.

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