HAINES CITY, Fla. — Concerns are growing in one Polk County neighborhood just days after several inches of water threatened homes during a storm on Sunday. 

Inside her home, Amanda May tried to find a little joy in the midst of a difficult week.

“Surprising my daughter with a little graduation surprise when she gets off the bus,” she said.

To celebrate, May decorated her dining room with streamers and photos of her 13-year-old daughter, Bailee. She said it was a small way to lift their spirits.

“You know, I’m trying my best,” she said. “The one thing I don’t want to do is lose my house. That’s my biggest fear.”

May says her late husband purchased the home on Georgene Road before he died of cancer in 2015. Since moving in, she says she hadn’t experienced any issues — until her home flooded during a storm last year. It happened again on Sunday, and this time, she says the water damaged her walls.

“It was water all in my floors right here, and then I noticed my drywall started bubbling up,” she said inside her bedroom. 

May believes the flooding was caused by runoff from a new housing development behind her property. She says she has reached out to the county several times in recent months, but has been frustrated by the responses.

“I can get flood insurance, raise my yard, put in drainage, or sell my house,” she said.

The Polk County native says she’s already done most of what officials suggested — and more — but nothing has worked.

According to Polk County’s upcoming stormwater agenda, leaders plan to discuss flooding on Georgene Road. But May wishes they had acted sooner. 

“I think they should’ve done this when I called them the first time last year. Why wait now, when I have damages to my house? And who’s going to help me pay for it?” she said. “This is their fault. This is someone’s responsibility — putting damage to my house — and now I have to pay for it.”

Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to Polk County regarding May’s concerns. We are still waiting for their response.