ASTOR, Fla. – Hurricane Milton is behind us, but flooding is still impacting people along the St. Johns River.
Record flood levels have been set in Astor, where Senator Rick Scott, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood and Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell led a team to survey the damage.
They toured the area in Volusia County Sheriff helicopters, then went out on the river.
Miles of flooded homes, businesses and buildings are at risk of even higher water. The St. Johns River at Astor rose to 4.8 feet in flood stage.
That beats the record set back in 2022 after Hurricane Ian which was 4.7 feet.
[RELATED: Where Milton ranks among strongest Atlantic hurricanes | Strongest winds so far in Central Florida from Hurricane Milton | Download the FREE News 6 hurricane app]
“What we saw is this is historic. I think the flooding is higher than it was during Ian,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. " And now here we are three days out and people think, well, the hurricane’s gone, but no, the effects are still there. The folk, the folks that live inland by the river are going to start to see more and more flooding. And that’s what our concern is.”
As officials continue to monitor the river, the other concern is getting financial aid to these communities.
“I talked to the president about two days ago,” Sen. Rick Scott told News 6. “I talked to the administrator of FEMA and said, get us a number so we’ll figure out how to get the funding on top of that. SBA, their loan program is not funded right now. So, also FEMA, the biggest thing they do besides coordinating things, they have individual assistance.”
It’s possible the St. Johns River could peak in the next couple of days before receding. Officials say it could take over a month for the St. Johns River to completely flush itself out to the Atlantic Ocean, but it depends on how much rainfall the area gets.
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