ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando City Council has approved a flood mitigation project for the Richmond Heights community, an area residents say has dealt with repeated flooding during heavy rain and major storms.

What You Need To Know

Orlando City Council approved more than $12.5 million for a flood mitigation project in Richmond Heights

The project is funded through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program

City officials say the neighborhood was prioritized after flooding during Hurricane Ian

The project aims to reduce standing water and surface flooding by increasing drainage capacity

The project is funded through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program and was approved during Monday’s City Council meeting. The Richmond Heights flood mitigation project is valued at more than $12 million.

City officials say Richmond Heights was prioritized after severe flooding during Hurricane Ian exposed drainage issues in the neighborhood.

“The Richmond Heights priority came from Hurricane Ian,” said Corey Knight, Director of Public Works for the City of Orlando. “During Hurricane Ian, most of the neighborhood had a lot of flooding.”

Residents say flooding has repeatedly made it difficult to leave their homes and has caused damage to property.

“The rain makes it flood over,” said Richmond Heights homeowner Barbara Hoosier. “The canal floods over. And it comes into my backyard. It came up on the shed, and everything that I had in the shed was damaged.”

Neighborhood leaders say the flooding affects multiple streets and homes throughout the community.

“It looks like you need a boat,” said Dionne Turner, president of the Richmond Heights Neighborhood Association. “It looks like up to your thigh type of water where you can’t get out of your house and nobody can really get in unless they have a boat.”

City officials say the project will focus on increasing the capacity of the stormwater drainage system to reduce standing water and surface flooding, particularly in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods.

“These CDBG-DR projects are specifically for low- to moderate-income areas,” Knight said. “We’re hoping to reduce the amount of ponding and surface water that can affect those areas around there.”

City officials say the Richmond Heights project is now in the design phase, with construction timelines determined later.