Sanford homeowner: Flooding after hurricane caused foundation to sink
A Sanford homeowner says he and his neighbors are still struggling to recover from the damage brought on by the flooding from Hurricane Ian.
He says the damage is causing his home's foundation to sink.
"Our house settled three and a half inches,” Norman Rolf said.
Things at Rolf’s home on Lily Court in Sanford are out of kilter these days.
"That's how much settling has occurred in our home,” Rolf said.
A door to the home has a significant gap over one corner. Experts are now under the house, replacing supports to get things level.
"They have to jack our entire home up and put new piers underneath of it, because everything washed out,” Rolf said.
Rolf says just as he thought the storm was winding down, he looked out and there was plenty of water covering his yard, but he said it was just underneath his very top step. He said in just 15 minutes to a half hour, he had a foot and a half of water inside his house and that's not all.
"The street that was a calm, let's call it, lake, turned into a raging river running right down over the pipeline that must have had some sort of blockage or failure,” he said.
Rolf showed photos of what Ian did to the entire neighborhood.
"Every home on this street got devastated,” Rolf said.
Rolf and his neighbors are preparing legal action against Sanford, believing the stormwater system is inadequate and poorly maintained.
Ian did bring record rains and historic flooding. A city spokesperson says the city can't comment due to the legal claim regarding Lily Court.
Sanford's mayor said work to upgrade Sanford's old stormwater system has been ongoing and more projects are coming. Millions have been spent and more will be.
He points out that Lake Monroe rose to record levels above stormwater outflows which backs up water needing to flow away from neighborhoods.
For Rolf and his neighbors, it's been a nightmare.
"Total damages on the entire home are running at about $140,000," he said.
And insurance was not helpful since he didn't have flood insurance. He never dreamed he'd need it.
“She's lived here 29 years, never has seen water on this street,” Rolf said.
Rolf got a little money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a low-interest small business loan, but the road ahead is lengthy.