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NSBNEWS.net photos by Sera Frederick. At left, this stretch of Atlantic and Florida on the beachside of New Smyrna Beach was closed overnight due to flooding. Below, a road closure at Columbus and Atlantic was established as well due to flooding. At both locales, city pumps were being utilized.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- With more than a dozen inches of rain dumped on the region, if you don't have to drive, then don't. That's the advice of at least one New Smyrna Beach police officer on patrol tonight on the beachside.
"It's not a bad idea to just stay home," said NSB cop Jason Reve.
On the mainland, the only significant road closure is the small Turnbull Bay Bridge, which is under water. On the beachside, several side roads are closed off due to flooding, including Columbus and Cedar avenues as well as a portion of Florida at South Atlantic.
With as much as 14 inches of rain dumped on Volusia County, according to the National Weather Service, many areas are flooded, though New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater and Oak Hill are faring better than the greater Daytona Beach area.
A flood watch remains in effect throughout Volusia County as rain continues unabated, though it has slowed down during the early morning hours of Thursday.
The City of New Smyrna Beach has established the "Citizen Information" Line for calls and questions relating to the storm/flooding situation. Please call (386) 424-2114.
Also, sandbags are available for New Smyrna Beach residents at the Public Works office, 124 Industrial Park Ave. There is a 20-bag limit and you will need to bring a shovel. A photo ID will be required to verify address (Also, see list below of county sanbag sites including those in Southast Volusia).
Volusia County has releaded flood-related information as follows:
SHELTERS
Florida's Coast to coast Chapter of the American Red Cross has opened a shelter for those affected by local flooding. The shelter is at the Westside Baptist Church, 1085 Mason Ave., Daytona Beach. For those in need of sheltering elsewhere in Volusia and Flagler counties, please contact the American Red Cross at (386) 226-1400. Residents seeking shelter are reminded to bring any special dietary needs, food, bedding, medication, toiletry items and games/toys.
DAYTONA BEACH
While Daytona Beach experiences a tremendous amount of rainfall causing localized flooding, city officials want to urge motorists to stay off flooded roads and out of low-lying areas. The City of Daytona Beach’s sewer plants are operating at near capacity. The plant normally processes about 11 million gallons of sewage per day. Right now, they are processing 25 million gallons with increases expected. Residents are asked to reduce further stress to the system by not flushing toilets or washing clothes. If residents notice sewage backups, they are asked to call the city's Emergency Operation Center at (386) 671-5555 and crews will be dispatched upon notification. At this time, the drinking water is not affected. Daytona Beach is offering bags and sand until 9 p.m. this evening due to the high demand. Sandbag materials will be available from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Residents are asked to bring their own shovels and identification.
The sandbag locations are:
o Public Works facility, 950 Bellevue Ave.
o Fire Station #4, 1675 Mason Ave.
Daytona Beach citizens who have questions related to the rainfall can call (386) 671-5555.
The following Daytona Beach roads are closed due to flooding:
o Keech Street o South Street
o Jean Street o Seagrave from Mullally to MMB
o Bowman Place
HOLLY HILL
The City of Holly Hill has opened their Citizen Information Center for citizens with questions related to the significant rain. The number is (386) 248-9410. Citizens can get up-to-date traffic and law enforcement information at www.twitter.com/hollyhillpolice.
ORMOND BEACH
The City of Ormond Beach is experiencing major street flooding that is requiring numerous areas to be shut down for vehicular traffic. At this time the following roadways are closed or restricted.
o John Anderson Drive has been shut down completely for through traffic as the roadway is heavily flooded.
o S.R. 40 is restricted to one westbound and one eastbound lane due to street flooding in the area just west of U.S. Hwy. 1 near the railroad tracks. The 700 block of S.R. 40 near Lohman Funeral Home also is restricted to one lane each way due to street flooding. S.R. 40 at Halifax Drive is being monitored and may need to be restricted or shut down. o Hand Avenue has been closed to through traffic due to severe flooding. The following intersections in Ormond Beach are closed: Hernandez and North Ridgewood, North Yonge and Wilmette Avenue, U.S. Hwy. 1 and Wilmette Avenue, Old Kings Road at S.R. 40 and Division Avenue, Fleming Avenue at Harbor Lights and Laurel Drive, and South Beach Street at Division Avenue. More closures are possible. Residents are urged to stay off of area roadways if at all possible until the weather subsides. If you must venture out, do not drive through standing water as many areas have sufficient depth to stall vehicles.
Ormond Beach’s Public Works Department, 501 N. Orchard St., is open for city residents to pick up sand bags from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. today. Each household may receive 10 sand bags. Residents must show identification.
SOUTH DAYTONA
The City of South Daytona has sand and sandbags available at the city's public works compound at 1770 Segrave Ave. Residents will need to bring their own shovel. For more information, please call (386) 322-3080.
PORT ORANGE
There are reports of a number of roads and neighborhoods with localized flooding, mainly on the east side of Port Orange. Dunlawton Avenue at Ruth Street is down to single-lane traffic in both east and west directions. Roads that are fully or partly impassible are Spruce Creek Road, Monroe Street, White Place, Halifax Drive, and Fleming Avenue. Oak Street is flooded east of the Spruce Creek Road. Signs and barricades are present in these locations. A few neighborhoods have received large amounts of rain. Several streets in Deep Forest, Sugar Forest, and Beacon Woods are flooded. Devon at Taylor Road is under water. In the neighborhood of Sleepy Hollow flooding is concentrated on the east and north side of the subdivision. It appears that much of the flooding is localized and has been contained to the roadways. The Cambridge Basin area and neighborhoods are relatively dry with the assistance of the new drainage system installed by the city after the 2004 hurricanes. The Public Works department is running pumps throughout the community. However, based on the last three days of rainfall, almost all of the ponds and retention facilities are nearing capacity. Hampering pump activities is the wind direction and the tide conditions. Crews are cleaning out catch basins and removing debris to keep drainage structures open. The city requests residents to assist efforts by removing debris from the catch basins in their neighborhoods. Structural damage reported is to two mobile homes which flooded due to a separated drain pipe which ran under the railroad tracks. Repairs have been made to the pipe and city officials are assessing damage. Sandbags and dirt are available to the community while supplies last. The bags are available at the Port Orange warehouse, 500 Oak St. (just east of the Florida East Coast railroad track). There is a limit of 25 bags per vehicle. Port Orange residents must bring shovels to fill their own bags. Double-lined trash bags work just as well as sandbags.
SANDBAGS FROM VOLUSIA COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS
Sand and empty sandbags are available for county residents from 7 a.m. - dusk. Residents should bring shovels and be prepared to fill and transport the bags. There will be a 25-bag limit per household. Garbage bags can be used to replace sandbags if supplies have been exhausted. Materials are available at the following locations:
o Volusia County Fire Station 23 (Turnbull), 1850 Pioneer Trail, New Smyrna Beach
o Volusia County Road and Bridge, 530 N. Dixie Freeway, New Smyrna Beach
o Volusia County Fire Station 22 (Oak Hill), 213 N. Hwy. U.S. 1, Oak Hill
o Volusia County Fire Station 11, 1580 Derbyshire Road, Holly Hill.