PORT ORANGE, Fla. – A dam in Port Orange’s Cambridge Canal drainage system breached Thursday morning, causing water to flow into nearby residential streets and prompting officials to issue precautionary evacuation orders.
News 6 crews at the scene of the dam breach found part of the broken wall peeking out from above the floodwaters. Dive crews and engineers arrived at the dam to assess damages and determine how to make repairs.
Port Orange officials said the tide at Rose Bay caused water to push into surrounding area. News 6′s Catherine Silver reported that Merrimac Drive near Spruce Creek Road and Trailwood Drive were flooded.
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Water inching closer to homes on Wiltshire Blvd near Wales Ave in Port Orange.
— Cat Silver (@CatSilverNews6) November 10, 2022
The city is working to repair part of the Cambridge Canal system that is compromised. The mayor tells me engineers are doing assessments now. They have gotten some relief from the change in tides. pic.twitter.com/am7pfoLGnL
Barricades were set up on the road due to the dam breach.
The mayor said the Cambridge Canal system is a major drainage system that flows into Rose Bay. The dam keeps water in Rose Bay from rushing back into the drainage system. Part of that dam has been breached and the water is now flowing into the streets.
Officials said precautionary evacuations are being issued for residents in low-lying areas in the Cambridge Canal area.
The mayor said a few hundred homes in the area are now at risk of flooding again. Voluntary evacuations are underway on Thursday morning.
Tropical Storm Nicole caused the Halifax River to jump its banks and cause flooding in low-lying areas of Port Orange overnight.
The storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening back to a tropical storm Thursday morning.
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