MOUNT DORA, Fla – After getting hit with 17 inches of rain over the weekend, Mount Dora officials are now surveying the damage across the city.
News 6 went on an exclusive ride-along Tuesday with Mount Dora Police Chief Michael Gibson.
During the ride, our crew stopped at Waterman Village, Donnelly Street and Wolf Branch Road.
Both Donnelly Street and Wolf Branch Road were washed out as a result of the weekend’s flooding event, and a massive ravine was carved out just steps away from people’s homes in Waterman Village.
[VIDEO: Wolf Branch Road washed out after Sunday night’s storms in Mount Dora]
Gibson said about 21 homes had to be evacuated. He said they began getting people out on Sunday when evacuations were officially ordered.
“So, all these homes have been evacuated. Yesterday we were literally watching the feet just fall off,” Gibson said, pointing out the massive washout near homes in Waterman Village.
[VIDEO: See drone footage of storm damage across Lake County]
Gibson said all of the residents are safe.
“They’re not here,” Gibson said. “Waterman has gone above and beyond to make sure that they’re safe.”
Seventeen inches of rain slammed into Mount Dora on Sunday, leaving widespread destruction throughout the city.
[VIDEO: 19 inches of rain: Storms flood Central Florida. Here’s who got the worst of it]
“That big pipe right there, as sure as I understand, that is the water main, one of the water mains, and as you can imagine, as the sand and dirt, everything supporting it was washed away. Then the weight of the pipe and the water itself, it’s just going to collapse,” Gibson explained.
Gibson said it is his understanding that this water main break is what contributed to the city-wide boil water notice that was issued in Mount Dora.
We also made a stop on Donnelly Street where a massive washout led to the road’s closure.
Gibson said the sand and dirt from Waterman was carried all the way to Donnelly Street.
[VIDEO: Lake County declares state of emergency after cities hit with up to 19 inches of rain]
“But this is all part of what you saw. You see, just carried sand with it,” Gibson said.
We asked Gibson if there are any lessons to be learned by local governments from the weekend’s flooding.
“I keep stating and I can’t overstate enough, I’m not an engineer, but these things happen. These things happen. And we just got to consider those when we’re designing, as we grow, we have to consider some of it, some of the events that we may face here in the state of Florida.”
The ride-along continued to Wolf Branch Road, a major thoroughfare in Lake County where the road washed out in the same place during Hurricane Milton.
Gibson said these roads are important because it’s where the community is.
“This is where our folks live, and they’re commuting back and forth to work. There’s developers going to areas that are being developed. So, these roadways are important to us.” Gibson said.
Gibson said he anticipates a fix on Wolf Branch Road relatively quickly. However, he said repairs in Waterman Village and on Donnelly Street will take longer.