ORLO VISTA, Fla. — Hurricane Ian struck a devastating blow to the historic Orlo Vista community in Orlando.

To this day, many residents are still trying to repair their homes, while others have moved away because they cannot afford the cleanup. 

With a multimillion-dollar flooding fix nearing completion, longtime residents who are preparing for the upcoming hurricane season are hopeful this fix works and will protect them from future setbacks. 

What You Need To Know

  • People living in the Orlo Vista community are hopeful a major multimillion-dollar flood mitigation project will work and keep their homes safe from flooding

  • During the 2024 hurricane season, temporary pumps along with the excavated ponds successfully prevented flooding in the community
  • Longtime community members like Zenobia Johnson and Julius Amos say they remember flooding from hurricanes Irma and Ian, and both remember having to be rescued from their homes during Hurricane Ian and losing almost everything in their homes
  • Orange County engineers say the refurbished water retention site consists of the north pond, south pond and west pond, and each pond can now hold three times the amount of water as before — over 140 million gallons

Zenoblia Johnson has lived in Orlo Vista for more than 30 years. It took a year before she could move back into her home after Hurricane Ian.

“I had to come out the side door over there. That’s where they pulled the canoe under the carport, and as I’m going, all I could say was, ‘Look at my neighborhood',” Johnson said.

Many of the friends she once knew in the area have moved away, unable to afford repairs to their flooded homes, so they sold them. But for the time being, she’s still home. 

“We have no control over the weather. God is in control of the weather. You got to stay prayerful. Pay attention to the weather reports,” she said.

Julius Amos feels the same as he, too, is rooted in faith, looking to a higher power for comfort this hurricane season. 

“Just trust in the Lord. That’s all I can tell them because there is not a whole lot we can do,” Amos said.

Amos has also lived in Orlo Vista for more than 30 years, surviving floods from hurricanes Irma and Ian. He said he is eager to see how the renovated stormwater mitigation project will hold up. 

“If they got diesel or something to back up other than electric. If they have electric pumps, it’s a good possibility they will go out again,” Amos said.

Mike Drozeck is overseeing the $23 million project. He said while the project won’t be fully completed in time for the start of hurricane season, they have a working plan in place until electrical parts come in. 

“We are very confident because this system and flood mitigation project was designed for a 100-year, 72-hour storm with 14 inches of rain,” Drozeck explained.

The refurbished site consists of the north pond, south pond and west pond. Each pond can now hold three times the amount of water as before — over 140 million gallons.

“The amount of storage that we have provided into the ponds, with the enhanced discharge capabilities of the new pump station, should greatly improve the level of flood protection in the community for large storm events like hurricanes,” Drozeck said.

Drozeck is hopeful with the new fixes in place, gripping flood images from Hurricane Ian will now be a thing of the past. And so does Johnson, still sending a word of caution to be ready for hurricane season. 

“Be as prepared as possible. If they tell you to leave, then leave,” Johnson said.

Orange County leaders are waiting on electrical parts to install and get the permanent pumps operational. For the time being, they have a working backup in place that stood the test of the prior hurricane season. They said they are hopeful the Orlo Vista stormwater mitigation project will be fully completed by the end of June.