LAKELAND, Fla. — “Time flies over us, however leaves its shadow behind.”
That quote, attributed to the author Nationwide Hawthorne, sums up what Nicole Aldahonda-Ramirez is feeling six months after Hurricane Milton flooded her Lakeland dwelling.
Since then, time has flown.
“It looks like it’s been ten years,” she mentioned.
However Milton’s shadows are nonetheless all over the place: all through her Lakeland neighborhood on Little Lake Bonny, inside and outdoors her dwelling, and behind her thoughts always.
“You realize, I’m in remedy for the PTSD, the trauma, every part that’s gone on,” Aldahonda-Ramirez mentioned.
Her dwelling, situated instantly on the lake, had by no means flooded earlier than till Milton.
It flooded so badly {that a} boat collided along with her dwelling, and he or she needed to escape via the entrance window along with her canine.
“I can’t even imagine I went in and thru the water,” she mentioned. “I might by no means go in that water, and the truth that I really was in it strolling with alligators, who is aware of the place they have been.”
Six months later, she’s again within the dwelling however nonetheless rebuilding it little by little.
It’s exhausting. It’s costly. It could really feel unimaginable.
“It has a unique that means residing right here now,” she mentioned whereas holding again tears. “It’s not, it’s not what I believed it was going to be.”
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The worst half is the uncertainty.
“It’s not if I’m going to flood,” she mentioned. “It’s when.”
She feels the Metropolis of Lakeland can and may do extra to decrease the lake stage and stop future floods on Lake Bonny.
Town has taken some motion.
In March, the town introduced a 90-day emergency settlement with the Southwest Florida Water Administration District, which controls lake ranges.
Earlier than the settlement, the town may solely pump water from Lake Bonny into close by Lake Parker when Bonny reached a 10-year flood stage.
The brand new settlement will permit the town to make use of the emergency pump sooner when Lake Bonny’s flood stage is roughly midway between a standard lake stage and the 10-year flood stage.
Town not too long ago drained the culvert that runs between Lake Bonny and Lake Parker and found no obstructions.
Earlier this 12 months, the Metropolis of Lakeland additionally commissioned a examine of the Lake Bonny flooding to determine causes and doable long-term options. In keeping with the examine’s timeline, it ought to be nearing completion within the coming weeks.
Nonetheless, Aldahonda-Ramirez and others need extra solutions, options, and proof that they matter to the town.
“It’s extraordinarily exhausting, however you need to maintain going,” she mentioned.
Proper now, she’s gathering signatures on a petition that asks the town for an “impartial third-party overview” of the flooding alongside Lake Bonny.
She plans to ship the signatures to commissioners at an upcoming assembly.
Advocating for her group whereas rebuilding her dwelling has grow to be a full-time job for Aldahonda-Ramirez.
“It’s insane the method,” she mentioned. “You’d by no means assume that each one of that is concerned in it after the actual fact and that no one is there to present you assist or solutions.”
Six months have handed, however Milton nonetheless hangs like a cloud over her dwelling and others.
“Let’s assist out our group the place we will.”
An area enterprise proprietor based the Hometown Titan Retreat with the intention of encouraging your complete native enterprise group to return collectively and assist as a lot as they will after devastating hurricanes in 2024.
Native entrepreneur helps small companies bounce again
