After the storm: Kicking off Part 2 of our Seen & Heard series about Rising Water

It’s been nearly two weeks since Hurricane Milton hit Florida’s west coast as a Category 3, but the storm’s impacts are still resonating in parts of Central Florida where residents endured significant flooding and tornadoes.

Following the storm, we’re revisiting our in-depth series, Central Florida Seen & Heard: Rising Water — this time, in podcast form. In our special three-part podcast, we’ll explore how residents and officials alike are navigating the complexities of water management in a quickly-changing Central Florida. We’ll also consider how resilient the region is to storms that scientists expect will just keep getting stronger.

First, to kick things off this week, we took stock of Milton’s impacts on the region, and explored why different parts of the St. Johns River are more or less likely to flood.

Water in the St. Johns River kept rising for days after Milton was gone, prolonging flood conditions in some parts of Central Florida and prompting some local officials to issue safety warnings to community members living along the river. Now, Florida’s longest river appears to have crested, with water levels expected to gradually recede over the next few weeks, according to local and state officials.

But for many Central Floridians, flooding isn’t just a concern during hurricane season. Across the region — from parts of Volusia and Seminole counties to neighborhoods in Downtown Orlando — many people say flooding overall seems to be getting worse.

Some allege newer developments built on higher ground are sending too much stormwater runoff to older, lower-sitting communities. Some place the blame on sea level rise caused by climate change, which researchers anticipate will decimate local revenues for more than half of Florida's municipalities by next century. Others say it’s a mix of the two, or neither.

Regardless of the reasons, rising water is impacting Central Floridians in a slew of different ways. That’s why Central Florida Public Media is, through this series, digging into the complexities of water management. Stay tuned!

Are you a Central Floridian with a flooding story to share? You can reach out to Molly Duerig, environment reporter at: mduerig@cfpublic.org.