KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The city of Kissimmee is asking for citizens’ input to address flooding concerns. City leaders have been working for more than a year to map data about areas and are gathering feedback on recent flood modeling results.
The city will collect feedback during a public meeting on flood-prone Monday evening at City Hall. The data is being gathered as part of a Vulnerability Assessment Project that will ultimately result in a plan to reduce Kissimmee’s unique flood risk.
The city has been working on the project since December 18, 2023, when the city was awarded a $340,000 grant by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The city applied to the grant program in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, when more than 19 inches of rain fell in Osceola County back in 2022.
During the storm, several homes were flooded with more than a foot of water, and Hurricane Ian became the costliest storm in Florida history. According to the City of Kissimmee, the goal of the Resilient Florida Planning Grant is to help local governments create science-based strategies to minimize future flooding impacts.
The first step was collecting new data and completing an exposure analysis to identify where flooding might occur. According to city officials, the last time this data was collected was 1989 so these maps will be reflective of rapid growth in the area.
As part of the grant agreement, the city must complete 13 tasks including gathering public input.
On Monday, city engineers will collect resident feedback on maps showing flooding hotspots. One of the goals is to create a prioritized list of infrastructure improvement.
“It is not a perfect science, it is not something that we control mother nature, but we are here to make sure that residents know that we are aware of the issues and that we want to address them,” said Nagel Altrui a stormwater engineer overseeing the project.
Altrui explained the city was founded in 1883, with development coming in phases meaning builders were adhering to different building codes. She explained part of the project includes working to identify where aging stormwater infrastructure needs to be updated and where drainage capacity needs to be expanded.
According to the city next steps include at least one other public meeting where residents will be briefed on how different flooding events could affect the city and will hear about possible infrastructure solutions.
By June 30th of 2026, the city expects to submit a final Vulnerability Assessment Report to the state recommending future flood improvement projects. That report will eventually head to the city council and lead to an action plan for improvements.
Residents who cannot make the in-person meeting can provide input via a city survey linked here.
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