RIDGE MANOR, Fla. (WFLA) — Residents along the Withlacoochee River continued to see their neighborhood turned into a pond, as water levels continue to rise on Wednesday.
People were continuing to pack up their things and evacuate their homes.
Some people in the Riverdale Community took a few steps out of their front door and they were past their ankles in water, others would be submerged.
“It’s very unnerving to see it this close, this deep, and to come out this morning and see a current, where there wasn’t one yesterday. This was all road, you could see the road,” said Jennifer Kern.
Jennifer Kern has lived in the area for 35 years and the water from the river was inching closer to her home, she said she is losing sleep.
“It’s hard to rest completely and feel relaxed, you’re on edge, you’re on guard. Every time I hear a sound, I’m looking to see who it is, what’s going on,” she said.
Kern said she is ready to evacuate if the water reaches her home.
“As soon as my septic tank is breached and I lose the ability to have plumbing inside my house, I’m going to go and I’m ready.”
Right around the corner, Christopher Smith and his wife were packing up their home.
“Monday, I left work early to start getting things out, Tuesday, I went and got a U-Haul, got all of our big objects out, today just getting all the small stuff out,” he said.
Smith said their lives have been impacted so much by the rising water that his son’s bus stop has even had to change locations.
“It’s stressful for them because now it’s a whole new system, a new routine and then, worrying about will we have a place and how long will it take to get that place back up and running,” Smith said.
Cherolyn Chambers lives up the street, she said she hopes the water starts receding before her home becomes an island.
“It’s basically in God’s hands, I mean, it’s devastation on top of devastation, we’ve had to watch our neighbors, which we are a very small community, and it’s, we’re at a loss,” she said.
If you don’t live in the area, neighbors were asking people to stop taking pictures and videos, especially with their house numbers.
They also asked that people stay away to stop blocking what little room they have left, which is needed for first responders and the residents.
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