BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Five days after historic rain hit South Brevard, parts of the Deer Run neighborhood still look like islands.
Drone 9 flew over the unincorporated community near Palm Bay, where water surrounds dozens of homes. It isn’t a lake or a river. It’s standing water, and it covers yards on streets like Antelope, Marlin and Horseshoe avenues.
The good news is that homes here are built on raised foundations, and we’ve received no reports of water inside any of the houses. But barns, garages and kids’ play areas are underwater.
Simay Simon lives in Deer Run with her two young kids. She says her backyard is out of use.
“I cannot utilize my backyard at all. My kids’ playground is under the water, and I am kind of just waiting for the water to go away,” Simon said.
So what is the county doing? A Brevard County spokesperson says crews can’t pump the water out, because there’s nowhere for it to go. The county also says it can’t flood some homes to keep water off others. It says the St. Johns River is moving north, so the water should begin to go down soon, and that it’s checking on residents. The county called the storm a one-in-1,000-year rain, and says it will look at every area that flooded.
Simon says she gets the county’s point.
“If you were to put the water in those canals, it’s going to fill up the next neighbor,” Simon said.
For now, she says residents are waiting, and she hopes the county plans better for neighborhoods in flood zones.
“Future better planning in terms of like specifically for flood zone homes,” Simon said.
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